Tuesday 16 August 2022 11:10 PM NYC 'sidewalk shover' Lauren Pazienza trial date set despite objections from ... trends now
An event planner charged with fatally shoving a beloved Broadway singing coach on a New York City street is set to go on trial for manslaughter in October 2023, a judge has ruled despite objections from her pricey high-profile defense attorney.
Lauren Pazienza, 26, appeared in court for a brief hearing on Tuesday where Manhattan Supreme Court Justice Felicia Mennin criticized the newly retained lawyer Arthur Aidala for doing everything he could to delay the trial.
'I'm not ready to commit to a trial date,' he protested. 'There's thousands of hours of discovery we still haven't gone through.'
Mennin replied: 'I'm going to give you a trial date and you can explain to me at that time why you're ready or not ready.'
The judge then set October 6, 2023, as the trial date for Pazienza, who faces manslaughter charges in the shoving death of 87-year-old Barbara Gustern.
Pazienza is accused of calling Gustern a 'b–ch' before shoving her onto the ground in an unprovoked attack in Chelsea on March 10.
Lauren Pazienza, 26, appeared in court for a brief hearing on Tuesday. She will face trial in October on charges of manslaughter after allegedly shoving Barbara Gustern, 87, to her death
Pazienza's trial is set for October 2023 despite objections from her pricey high-profile defense attorney Arthur Aidala who protested that he needed more time
Pazienza, a former event planner from Long Island, wore a white long-sleeved T-shirt, beige pants and a blue face mask when she appeared in court on Tuesday, the New York Post reported.
She has pleaded not guilty to manslaughter and assault charges and has rejected a plea deal for a 15-year sentence.
Last month, she retained celebrity attorney Arthur Aidala, 54, a well-known for taking on high-profile clients who attract harsh scrutiny from the press, and has previously represented the likes of Anthony Weiner, Harvey Weinstein, Rudolph Giuliani, Alan M. Dershowitz and Roger Ailes.
According to a recent New York Times profile, a friend of Aidala's asked him if he would talk to Pazienza's family on the day she was first identified as a suspect in Gustern's death.
Pazienza's parents, Daniel and Caroline, live on Long Island, where he owns a small business servicing cesspools.
According to the Times, they could not afford Aidala's usual $950-an-hour rate, but they and Pazienza's grandparents agreed to a payment plan with the attorney that tapped their combined savings and pensions.
In court, Aidala has argued that that family has little money, saying that Pazienza is not a flight risk. She is currently being held without bail on Rikers Island, a decision that Aidala blames on the
