Gay cop agrees to non-jury trial

N. Melville Jones, an openly gay Philadelphia police officer who’s suing the city for workplace bias, has withdrawn his request for a jury trial.

In court papers, the city objected to Jones’ request for a jury trial, claiming that anti-bias litigants in Philadelphia Common Pleas Court don’t have a right to a jury trial.

The Fair Practices Ordinance, which bans anti-LGBT workplace discrimination, doesn’t specifically allow for jury trials.

Federal antibias litigants are entitled to a jury trial, but that right was specified in the Civil Rights Act of 1991.

Mark McDonald, a spokesperson for Mayor Nutter, had no comment on whether Nutter supports amending the local ordinance to allow for jury trials.

Mazzoni Center legal director David M. Rosenblum said a jury trial is a “good option” for antibias litigants.

“We would certainly support efforts to amend the Philadelphia Fair Practices Ordinance to include the right to a jury trial for employees who seek it,” Rosenblum said. “We have always believed that a strong local ordinance is good for all employees, including, of course, LGBT people.”

He added: “Of course, we also support efforts to pass ENDA [Employment Nondiscrimination Act], which would afford jury trials to LGBT litigants. We applaud those who are working towards doing this on the national level. Sadly, given the political realities of Congress, I am not confident that this will happen any time soon.”

Jones is suing the city for more than $50,000 in damages.

The case is pending before Common Pleas Judge Mark I. Bernstein.

A non-jury trial has been tentatively set for 10 a.m. Oct. 6.

In his suit, Jones contends that Daniel Castro, a former high-ranking police official, routinely harassed him at work.

Castro disseminated Jones’ sexual orientation throughout the police department and had him transferred to an undesirable night shift, according to Jones’ suit.

Coworkers accused Jones of having sex in public restrooms. Additionally, he was sent out on patrol without proper attire and weaponry, according to the suit.

In January 2010, while Jones was out on sick leave, Castro circulated a staff memo identifying Jones as “Mel Cums Jones,” according to the suit.

Castro no longer works for the city. In 2011, he pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit extortion in an unrelated matter, and was sentenced to 60 months in prison.

Barak Kassutto, an attorney for Jones, said the officer remains optimistic, even though he won’t be having a jury trial.

“The quality of the judges in Philadelphia is high,” Kassutto told PGN. “We trust we’ll have a fair-minded judge who will consider the facts and render a fair verdict.”

Kassutto also said pursuing the jury-trial issue could have resulted in lengthy delays.

“[City officials] don’t want this in front of a jury, and the case law seems to be on their side,” he said. “We could have tried making an [LGBT-related] argument but that would have been an appellate issue. It could have slowed down the case tremendously.”

In a related matter, Kassutto praised a recent report by LGBT thinktank The Williams Institute, which spotlights “pervasive discrimination” allegedly experienced by many LGBT law-enforcement officers across the country, including Jones.

“The report is a valuable resource on this subject, and its findings carry a great deal of weight,” Kassutto said.

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