Soares apologizes to county jurist; Assistant asked Judge Herrick to recuse himself from Democratic official's case, suggesting bias.(Capital Region)

Byline: CAROL DeMARE Staff Writer

ALBANY - District Attorney David Soares has apologized to County Judge Stephen W. Herrick for comments by a prosecutor suggesting the judge was biased and should remove himself from a case involving a Democratic ward leader.

An angry Herrick admonished Assistant District Attorney Sam Spitzberg, saying the prosecutor wrongly accused him of official misconduct and leaking information contained in a sealed indictment to a Times Union reporter.

The newspaper obtained a transcript of a Feb. 14 conference in the judge's chambers in which Herrick aired the request that he recuse himself. Herrick called baseless all aspects cited by Spitz berg in asking the judge to step aside in the …