WPCNR WHITE PLAINS LAW JOURNAL. By John F. Bailey. Decmber 4, 2004: The Appellate Court in Brooklyn will hear arguments on Glen Hockley's appeal of Judge Francis Nicolai's Summary Judgment decision removing Mr. Hockley from the Common Council in July, and putting Larry Delgado on the council in his place.

Mr. Hockley is appealing on grounds that he was entitled to a jury trial where his attorney could question the voters signing affidavits swearing they voted for Mr. Delgao that were adjudicted by the Attorney General's Office through a quo warranto action on Mr. Delgado's behalf as being evidence that Mr. Delgado had actually won District 18  on November 5, 2001 when the voting machine hammed in that heavily Republican District.

Thomas Abinanti told WPCNR that he was cautiously optimistic that the appellate court would find for Mr. Hockley in the proceedings. Abinanti said Mr. Hockley's case would be argued by G. Oliver Koppell, former Attorney General of the State of New York in the early 1990s. Mr. Delgado did not return calls for comment.

Referring to the Senator Nick Spano, Andrea Stewart-Cousins vote count currently under way, Abinanti said, "You can't just accept affidavits as ballots without the same scrutiny, especially after the voters knew the result of the election."

Mr. Hockley recently had his appeal to the Court of Appeals to have Judge Francis Nicolai removed from the case as being biased, dismissed by the highest court, according to Jeffrey Binder, Mr. Delgado's attorney, who informed WPCNR of the setback to Mr. Hockley by e-mail today.

Mr. Abinanti said that if the Appellate Court found for Mr. Hockley, calling for a jury trial, they could really do anything they wanted even to the possibility of Mr. Hockley being placed back on the council and Mr. Delgado removed, while the jury trial was set up.