State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, left, looks on as his attorney Joe Tacopina speaks to the media after a hearing at Queens Criminal Court Thursday, July 30, 2009 in New York. During the hearing, Judge William Erlbaum denied a motion to dismiss assault charges against Monserrate, clearing the way from the embattled state senator to stand trial. AP Photo logo AP Photo 4 months ago

State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, left, looks on as his attorney Joe Tacopina speaks to the media after a hearing at Queens Criminal Court Thursday, July 30, 2009 in New York. During the hearing, Judge William Erlbaum denied a motion to dismiss assault charges against Monserrate, clearing the way from the embattled state senator to stand trial.

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  1. State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, center, leaves the Queens Supreme Court after the reading of the verdict in his case Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in the Queens borough of New York. Monserrate, a Queens Democrat, would have lost his Senate seat if convicted of second-degree felony assault. He faces up to a year in prison at his sentencing Dec. 4, 2009 on a misdemeanor count of third-degree reckless assault for injuring Karla Giraldo while pulling her through a lobby as she resisted, crying and latching on to banisters.

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  1. New York Senate majority leader John Sampson, third from right, is surrounded by members of a new special committee of inquiry as he speaks at a news conference in New York, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2009. Sampson announced that Senator Eric Schneiderman, second from left, will lead the committee to investigate the conduct of Senator Hiram Monserrate following his conviction on a misdemeanor charge for assaulting his girlfriend. Other committee members include senators Toby Ann Stavisky, far left, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, third from left, Diane Savino, second from right, and Ruth Hassell-Thompson, far right.
  2. New York Senate majority leader John Sampson, third from right, is surrounded by members of a new special committee of inquiry as he speaks at a news conference in New York, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2009. Sampson announced that Senator Eric Schneiderman, second from left, will lead the committee to investigate the conduct of Senator Hiram Monserrate following his conviction on a misdemeanor charge for assaulting his girlfriend. Other committee members include senators Toby Ann Stavisky, far left, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, third from left, Diane Savino, second from right, and Ruth Hassell-Thompson, far right.
  3. New York Senate majority leader John Sampson, third from right, is surrounded by members of a new special committee of inquiry as he speaks at a news conference in New York, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2009. Sampson announced that Senator Eric Schneiderman, second from left, will lead the committee to investigate the conduct of Senator Hiram Monserrate following his conviction on a misdemeanor charge for assaulting his girlfriend. Other committee members include senators Toby Ann Stavisky, far left, Andrea Stewart-Cousins, third from left, Diane Savino, second from right, and Ruth Hassell-Thompson, far right.
  4. New York Senate majority leader John Sampson, right, speak during a news conference in New York, Tuesday Oct. 20, 2009. Sampson announced that Senator Eric Schneiderman, left, will lead a special committee of inquiry to investigate the conduct of Senator Hiram Monserrate following his conviction on a misdemeanor charge for assaulting his girlfriend.
  5. State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, center, leaves the Queens Supreme Court after the reading of the verdict in his case Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in the Queens borough of New York. Monserrate, a Queens Democrat, would have lost his Senate seat if convicted of second-degree felony assault. He faces up to a year in prison at his sentencing Dec. 4, 2009 on a misdemeanor count of third-degree reckless assault for injuring Karla Giraldo while pulling her through a lobby as she resisted, crying and latching on to banisters.
  6. Senator Hiram Monserrate speaks to the media after leaving the Queens courthouse in New York, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Monserrate, a freshman state senator accused of slashing his girlfriend's face in a jealous rage was acquitted Thursday of a felony charge, but was convicted of a lesser charge of grabbing her by the arm in a scene caught on videotape.
  7. New York state Sen. Hiram Monserrate, right, speaks to the media after leaving a courthouse in the Queens borough of New York, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009.
  8. Senator Hiram Monserrate, center, speaks to the media after leaving the Queens courthouse in New York, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. Monserrate, a freshman state senator accused of slashing his girlfriend's face in a jealous rage was acquitted Thursday of a felony charge, but was convicted of a lesser charge of grabbing her by the arm in a scene caught on videotape.
  9. State Sen. Hiram Monserrate, center, enters Queens Supreme Court with attorney Joseph Tacopina, left, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009, in the Queens borough of New York. Monserrate, a Queens Democrat, would have lost his Senate seat if convicted of second-degree felony assault. He faces up to a year in prison at his sentencing Dec. 4, 2009 on a misdemeanor count of third-degree reckless assault for injuring Karla Giraldo while pulling her through a lobby as she resisted, crying and latching on to banisters.
  10. State Senator Hiram Monserrate enters the Queens courthouse in New York, Thursday, Oct. 15, 2009. State Sen. Hiram Monserrate has been acquitted of a felony charge of second-degree assault for slashing his girlfriend's face in a jealous rage.
  11. This Sept. 20, 2009 photo shows Karla Giraldo waiting to testify in court at the trial of her companion State Sen. Hiram Monserrate in the Queens borough of New York. Monserrate was acquitted of more serious charges of assaulting Giraldo, in part because she refused to cooperate with authorities. In Queens alone, 90 percent of all women recant their stories of domestic abuse, and don't want to see their abusers tried. But the DA's office has a special unit that must prosecute the cases without the testimony of the key witnesses, or when the witness turns hostile.

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