To the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association, he was Turn 'Em Loose Bruce, the judge who let poor and black defendants out on little or no bail, sometimes after being charged with violent crimes against cops. But to New York's African-American community, he was nothing less than a folk hero, a fearless black man willing to stand up to what many see as a racist, criminal justice system.
Judge BRUCE WRIGHT: I believe with almost religious zeal that I must honor the admonition of the last will and testament of Frederick Douglass, which was to all black people of this country: Agitate, agitate, agitate. And I don't think that my right to agitate stops at the courthouse door.
Judge BRUCE WRIGHT: I believe with almost religious zeal that I must honor the admonition of the last will and testament of Frederick Douglass, which was to all black people of this country: Agitate, agitate, agitate. And I don't think that my right to agitate stops at the courthouse door.