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A
courtroom at the courthouse at 111 Centre St. in Manhattan.
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"Place
your left hand on the Bible and raise your right hand …"
Rita Cullen,
55, can't remember how many times she has said those words. As a court
clerk in the State Supreme Court criminal branch in Manhattan, it's
Cullen's job along with the other 75 clerks to swear in witnesses
with the oath that starts with those simple instructions.
Cullen, who grew
up in Rockaway, Brooklyn, and has lived in New York City her whole
life, has been giving the oath for two years since she passed the
court clerk test in 1999. She keeps the black Bible supplied to the
court for the oath on top of a shelf near the witness stand. "It's
just a Bible," she says, flipping through its pages as if to show
it's no different from any other. "It's the same as the ones in
a hotel room."
within the courts,
judges may administer the oath themselves or tap a court employee,
such as a court officer or court reporter, to do it. "The judge can
change it," Cullen says. "Even though this is the unified court system,
it's not uniform." However, in the criminal court, 99 percent of the
time clerks give the oath. "We're a little more formal," she says.
To avoid conflicts,
Cullen administers an "affirmation" without
the Bible and the Christian-centric oath to anyone who asks. It's
rare that anyone objects to the traditional oath though, she says.
Besides swearing in witnesses, clerks also administer an oath to potential
jurors during jury selection (a voir dire oath), and once the jury
has been chosen (a sworn jurors oath). The courts used to require
the entire jury have its hand on the Bible for the sworn jurors oath,
but the situation turned into a giant game of Twister, one
clerk complained. Eventually, the procedure was stopped.
Before becoming
a clerk, Cullen served for 13 years as a court officer (New York's
version of bailiffs). As a holdover from those days, Cullen carries
a .38-caliber pistol in a shoulder holster underneath a sports
jacket. All court clerks are considered peace officers, meaning they
can make arrests within their jurisdiction, but few are qualified
to carry a weapon.
Since Cullen
learned how to shoot as a court officer, she continues to carry a
firearm. "I've never used it, and I hope I never will," says Cullen,
who recently became a grandmother. Cullen likes her .38, but she
plans to get qualified on a 9mm pistol in distance, close-range and
night shooting. "I shouldn't have to do it, but I like knowing
how to do it," she says, adding that she carries the firearm to feel
safe from people she meets during her job. "The defendants really
remember you."
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FAST
FACTS
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Name:
Rita Cullen
Age: 55
Occupation: Court clerk for Judge Laura Visitacion-Lewis
Residence: Staten Island
Marital status: Divorced (she says her mistake was marrying
a lawyer)
Love of her life: A 5-year-old Boston terrier named Boots
("All her paws are white so it looks like she's wearing boots.")
Preferred firearm: .38 pistol
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| Cullen
and other court clerks within the criminal division request
that their photos not appear in publication. Cullen says she
worries about reprisals from criminals. The court clerk during
mob boss John Gotti's trial made a special arrangement with
news organizations to make sure he was not shown, according
to Harold Gaffney, 52, who served as the alternate clerk in
the Gotti trial. |
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TAKE
THE OATH
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A statute at the New York
State Supreme Courthouse in
Man hattan
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"If a man vow a vow to
the Lord, or swear an oath to bind his soul with a bond; he
shall not
break his word, he shall do
according to all that proceedeth
out of his mouth" -- The Bible,
Numbers 30:2
"Oaths are but words, and words but wind" -- Samuel
Butler, 17th century English writer
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