James R. Mann, a Justice of the Nunda Town and Village Courts (Livingston County), resigned while under formal disciplinary charges by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct. He was charged with soliciting the assistance of the chief of police to thwart the arrest of his former brother-in-law for driving while intoxicated. Judge Mann, who left office effective December 1, 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 Mann was served with a Formal Written Complaint dated October 10, 2019, containing one charge stemming from a 2016 incident in which his former brother in-law was stopped by police in a nearby town and given field sobriety tests. It was alleged that when the judge’s former wife, who was a passenger in the vehicle, called him by cellphone to advise what was happening at the scene, Judge Mann called the police chief and asked for “a break” for his former brother-in-law. The chief relayed the message to one of the officers. The judge’s former brother-in-law was let go without being charged; one of the passengers in the vehicle took over the driving.
Judge Mann 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 Mann, who is not an attorney, has been a Justice of the Nunda Town Court and the Nunda Village Court since 2000. His current terms would have expired on December 31, 2019, and March 31, 2022, respectively.
The stipulation and the Commission’s order closing the case can be found on the Commission’s website: www.cjc.ny.gov.
Statement by Commission Administrator
Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian made the following statement.
“Public safety and the integrity of the judiciary are both compromised when a judge thwarts a lawful arrest, especially for something so serious as driving while intoxicated. Exerting special influence to get such a ‘break’ for a friend or relative is unquestionably and obviously dangerous and wrong.”
