NY1 has learned that the leading candidate for Bronx DA played a previously undisclosed role in the case of Kalief Browder, a young man who committed suicide earlier this year after being held at Rikers Island for three years without trial. NY1's Bobby Cuza filed the following report.

Even by the standards of the Bronx, with its notoriously backlogged system, it was an extreme case. Arrested in 2010 at age 16 for allegedly robbing a man for his backpack, Kalief Browder would spend three years on Rikers Island without ever facing trial, most of that time in solitary confinement, at times subject to beatings.

The case was ultimately dismissed and Browder’s court record sealed, but part of that court record, obtained by NY1, shows that the judge for several of his appearances was Darcel Clark, now the frontrunner to be the next Bronx district attorney.

On NY1’s Inside City Hall Thursday, Clark said she didn't recall Browder.

"Honestly, I cannot say that I remember it," Clark said. "I mean, I was there for 13 years."

Altogether, Browder had 31 court dates over three years before nine different judges. Clark was the judge for six court dates, including February 17, 2012, when the case was again delayed, this time because the prosecutor was on vacation. The following day, Browder attempted suicide.

Thanks to a New Yorker magazine profile, Browder’s case gained widespread attention. When he committed suicide in June, it sparked rallies and protests, and comments from Mayor Bill de Blasio.

"There’s just no reason he should have gone through that ordeal," de Blasio said.

The mayor is now undertaking reform of the bail system, and has ended solitary confinement for 16- and 17-year-olds.

Clark, too, has promised reforms.

"We all share in the responsibility. Everyone - the DA's office, the courts, the Department of Corrections," Clark said. "It's a tragedy. It should never have happened. And under my watch, I'm going to make sure that things like this do not happen."

Clark's nomination for DA came after current DA Robert Johnson abruptly announced last month he would seek a judgeship rather than re-election. His timing meant Bronx Democratic Party leaders could hand-pick his replacement on the ballot.

Browder's family, meanwhile, recently served notice that it’s suing the city for $20 million.