The case of the duelling prosecutors

A few years ago, Rob Reuland was a hotshot assistant DA in the King’s County office (better known to most people as Brooklyn) where he prosecuted a variety of cases such as the Prospect Park Slasher. Like many in law enforcement, he was a closet novelist, but managed to escape it by inking a six-figure deal with Random House for the publication of his first novel HOLLOWPOINT. The novel was published to great acclaim in 2001 for its depiction of a conflicted DA working amidst the muck in a Brooklyn office. When Reuland landed the deal, he told his boss, Charles J. Hynes, who granted his blessing on the project.

Then things got ugly.

It started when Reuland, in an interview with New York Magazine upon HOLLOWPOINT’s publication, commented that “Brooklyn is the best place to be a homicide prosecutor. We’ve got more bodies per square inch than anyplace else.” While it may or may not be true*, Hynes was far from amused about the remark. Only weeks after giving Reuland a raise, the younger man was out–and steamed. Claiming that he was unjustly fired and that the First Amendment protected his right to make such comments, Reuland sued his boss. Although Hynes claimed that such lawsuits had no merit in court, his appeals were denied, and the case drags on.

Now, Reuland’s second novel, SEMIAUTOMATIC, is in stores–just in time for the wrongful termination trial:

Trial date has been set in a wrongful termination suit filed by former prosecutor Robert Reuland — nowadays a crime novelist and criminal defense lawyer — against his former boss, Brooklyn District Attorney Charles J. Hynes.

On Monday, Mr. Hynes’ third motion for dismissal of Reuland v. Hynes, 01 Civ. 5661, was rejected by Eastern District Judge John Gleeson, who scheduled opening statements for July 12.

Jerry Schmetterer, a spokesman for the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, said Mr. Hynes would have no comment. Mr. Reuland’s counsel, Jane Gould of the White Plains firm Lovett & Gould, said the case “seems to moving along now.”

So as both sides gear up for what could be quite the interesting civil suit, what’s the kicker? The fact that DA Hynes is about to stake his own claim as a crime novelist:

[A]nother New York publishing house, St. Martin’s Press, confirmed that Mr. Hynes’ own venture into crime fiction. “And the Walls Came Tumbling Down” is the title of the district attorney’s book, scheduled for release in the summer of 2005.

St. Martin’s editor Sean Desmond** said Mr. Hynes’ novel is about “police corruption, set in New York City.” The district attorney’s office declined to comment.

So in other words, Hynes and Reuland won’t just be battling in court–they’ll be vying for the same fan base as well.

You better believe this case will get more interesting as the summer continues…

*_Certainly in 2002 when I was interning at the Medical Examiner’s Office, Brooklyn had a much higher murder rate than Manhattan did, but was neck-and-neck with the Bronx. It may have changed since then.

**The same Sean Desmond who bought Kate Lee’s maiden fiction sale. In other words, everything’s well and truly connected in the ‘sphere….