Violinist’s Lawyer Plays Sad Song in Court

A Manhattan judge on Thursday refused a motion by the defense lawyer of acclaimed violinist Stefan Artzberger to allow him to travel abroad and return home to Germany to visit his wife and son, and look for more employment.

Mr. Artzberger’s attorney argued that he was being forced to live with friends in the city, and that he could not find work since his passport had been seized. In addition, he accused the prosecutor of delaying the proceedings.

“Let me finish,” defense attorney Nicholas Kaizer said loudly to the prosecutor and also criticized the court for mandating psychological tests for the defendant but dragging its heels on the process.

Artzberger is accused of attempted murder, burglary and assault for breaking into and attacking 64-year old Pamela Robinson in her Midtown hotel room back in March of this year. According to court documents, Robinson claims she answered the door of her hotel room to find Mr. Artzberger standing “completely naked” and then forcing his way into her room,violently choking her and slamming her into the hotel room’s walls and shelves.

Artzberger , 42, who has performed for the Leipzig Quartet in Germany claims he has no memories from the night in question and his lawyers argue that he was most likely drugged by a transsexual prostitute that he’d spent the evening with the night before.

The judge said he would not grant the defense’s motion because since Artzberger was a well-known violinist, he could travel to countries that don’t have extradition deals with America and would not send him back to stand trial. Artzberger’s lawyer vehemently said Germany had an extradition deal with the U.S, and the judge could simply allow him to travel to Germany and nowhere else which would prevent him from leaving the country.

In the end, the judge ordered the hearing to be adjourned till November 25th and told the prosecution to try during this time to get the psychological evaluation done.