presided over the first trial of Charles Becker, a police lieutenant charged with arranging the murder of a gambler named Herman Rosenthal. The trial was notable for the extreme speed at which Goff ran the proceedings, which lasted about two weeks. Becker was found guilty, but the verdict was later reversed on the grounds that Goff had heavily favored the prosecution. In a 6 to 1 ruling, The Court of Appeals charged that "haste seemed to become the essence of the trial." Goff was also reprimanded for repeatedly denying the defense's requests for adjournment. When Becker received a re-trial, he was found guilty again. In retirement, Goff lived on a farm in upstate New York, where he raised herons. Legacy Goff was never a learned man — his politely-worded entry in the Dictionary of American Biography admits that "he could never be described as a scholar" – but was widely regarded, among his contemporaries, as the great terror of the New York City Bar Association. The criminal lawyer and Assistant District Attorney Newman Levy described him as "the cruelest, most sadistic judge we have had in New York this century." According to Andy Logan, the chronicler of the Becker case, "distinguished members of the bar at the height of their careers confessed to waking up in their beds in a cold sweat, having heard in nightmares the sound of that low, sibilant voice saying 'Buzz, buzz, buzz, buzz, guilty!' — a verdict he pronounced, it seemed to them, with joy." References Sources FAVOR J. W. GOFF FOR MAYOR in NYT on October 4, 1894 MR. OTTENDORFER RESIGNS in NYT on October 4, 1894 WILLIAM L. STRONG FOR MAYOR in NYT on October 6, 1894 STRONG!; TAMMANY OVERWHELMED BY A PLURALITY OF ABOUT 50,000 in NYT on November 7, 1894 CAREER OF THE RECORDER-ELECT in NYT on November 7, 1894 JUDICIARY TICKET NAMED BY TAMMANY in NYT on October 11, 1906 Further reading "Mr McClave's Ordeal Over". (May 25, 1894). New York Times, p. 1. "Williams Denies All". (December 27, 1894). New York Times, p. 1. "Williams At The Wall". (December 28, 1894). New York Times, p. 1. 1848 births 1924 deaths New York City Recorders Members of the Irish Republican Brotherhood Irish emigrants to the United States (before 1923) New York Supreme Court Justices New York (state) Democrats