DISRUPTED

NY Judge Declares Mistrial in Sex Abuse Case After Lawyer Has Coughing Fit

The defense lawyer of a doctor who has been charged with sex abuse told the judge on Monday that he has a fever and a cough.

A New York Judge declared a mistrial in Eric Braverman’s sexual abuse case on Monday after his defense lawyer had a coughing fit and four jurors called out due to coronavirus concerns. “They declared a mistrial and we’re closing the 16th-floor attorney conference room. It will be deep cleaned,” said a spokesman for the Office of Court Administration Lucian Chalfen, The New York Post reported. The attorney, Donald Vogelman, reportedly told Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Ruth Pickholz on Monday morning that he had a fever and a cough, which are known symptoms of the novel coronavirus. Vogelman, however, decided to call in over speakerphone and started having a coughing fit after questioning a witness as part of his defense case. He told Pickholz he “just can’t do it,” which prompted the judge to declare a mistrial. Braverman is a neurosurgeon who has been charged with sexually assaulting a female patient in 2017 while conducting a medical exam.