Judge rules Hempstead officials not in contempt for missing hearing

Judge rules Hempstead officials not in contempt for missing hearing

State Supreme Court Justice Gary Carlton ruled that Town of Hempstead officials were not in contempt of court when they missed an early October lawsuit hearing. Because they were subpoenaed, their absence was grounds for a motion of contempt, but the judge’s decision rejected that motion.  Carlton wrote that the defendants were not in contempt because they had acted on “good faith reliance on their legal counsel, which is a basis to deny civil c…