Town Court Justice in Clinton County Resigns while Charged for Inappropriate Facebook Post

Altona Town Court Justice Kyle R. Canning (Clinton County) has resigned while under formal charges by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct for sharing an image on his Facebook account that conveyed racial and/or political bias. Judge Canning, who resigned from office effective June 27, 2019, has agreed never to seek or accept judicial office at any time in the future. The Commission accepted a stipulation to that effect signed by the judge and the Commission’s Administrator and closed its formal proceeding. Judge Canning was served with a Formal Written Complaint dated May 7, 2019, containing one charge, alleging that he posted an image of a noose to his Facebook account, with the annotation in white capital letters, “IF WE WANT TO MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN WE WILL HAVE TO MAKE EVIL PEOPLE FEAR PUNISHMENT AGAIN.”

Judge Canning waived the statutory provision of confidentiality applicable to Commission proceedings, to the limited extent that the stipulation and Commission’s order accepting it and closing the case would be public. Judge Canning, who is not an attorney, had been a Justice of the Altona Town Court since 2018. His current term would have expired on December 31, 2021. The stipulation and the Commission’s order closing the case can be found on the Commission’s website: www.cjc.ny.gov. Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian made the following statement: “The noose is an incendiary image with repugnant racial connotations. It is the very antithesis of law and justice. For a judge to use the image of the noose in making a political point undermines the integrity of the judiciary and public confidence in the courts.”

The Commission has accepted 86 such stipulations since the procedure was instituted in 2003. Since 1978, the Commission has issued 271 determinations of admonition against judges in New York State, 326 determinations of censure and 172 determinations of removal.