Laser Show, Gina Longarzo Stays Grounded Even During Cases with Alleged National Security Implications

ON THE EVENING OF DECEMBER 31, 2007, David Banach was out on his deck with his 7–year-old looking at the stars. He was using a laser pointer. It was nice. Until he got arrested.

He inadvertently flashed a beam of light at a helicopter. This made authorities nervous. Just ten minutes later there were FBI agents at Mr. Banach’s door and they weren’t there to help him ring in the New Year. They wanted to ask him some questions. So they took Banach – against his will – out of his home and away from his family to FBI headquarters for polygraph tests. Even more startling: he was denied legal counsel before being subjected to those tests. Enter criminal defense attorney Gina Mendola Longarzo. Word of the case came to her from Banach's neighbor, who was a friend of her husband’s.

Longarzo has worked on many high-profile cases, such as those involving police officers and politicians, but this was her first interaction with the Patriot Act. She didn't foresee the case attracting much media attention. “This case was a fluke,” says Longarzo. “I never knew it would get so much attention.” The story quickly spread to CNN, CBS, MSNBC, The New York Times, Wired Magazine and even the Taipei Times, an English language Taiwanese newspaper.

Longarzo attributes Banach’s arrest to heightened anxiety after 9/11, which she feels resulted in an “an improper expansion of government power. All of a sudden misdemeanor behavior was terrorist activity. You could throw a snowball while riding a bus and be tried as a terrorist.”

She originally set out of law school intending to be a prosecutor, helping child and sex abuse victims. Her path changed during her judicial clerkship in Essex County Superior Court. “I found I preferred being a defendant, protecting peoples’ constitutional rights,” she says.

Banach was staring down the possibility of 25 years in prison and $500,000 in fines – and a prosecution that wanted to make an example of him. “The case was an uphill brutal battle the whole way,” say Longarzo. But she ended up negotiating a guilty plea for him and secured him two years probation.

After his case, this particular statute was amended to sift out similarly non-malicious activity. According to Longarzo, the judge also restored Banach’s reputation. “At sentencing Judge John Lifland detailed his good deeds and longtime law-abiding life and upstanding reputation in the community.”

Before the trial, David Banach was a strong supporter of The Patriot Act. “He was one of those die-hard red, white, and blue guys after 9/11,” says Longarzo. “But now that he sees how it can be misapplied and abused, he no longer supports The Patriot Act.”

Longarzo, however, recognizes there are legitimate reasons to support the Patriot Act. She also sees that certain aspects of it are abuses of governmental excess. “The Patriot Act was put into place so quickly amidst all the hysteria of 9/11,” she says. “It obliterated our current Jurisprudence.” Longarzo says she feels blessed to be able to challenge those abuses of power, but she thrives on helping the little guy. “This case was very near and dear to my heart,” explains Longarzo. “I fell in love with this sweet, down-home American family caught in this federal nightmare.” She admits that being in the spotlight helps keep her focused on the final outcome. “You need to always remember that what you say will be judged against your client. I need to not just fire off the first caustic remark that comes to mind in a knee-jerk reaction, but try to see the whole, long picture.”

-- Courtney "Coco" Mault

First published in New Jersey Super Lawyers, 2009