In the Annual Report of its activities in 2019, released today, the New York State
Commission on Judicial Conduct reported the following:
• 1,944 new complaints were received and processed.
• 505 preliminary inquiries were conducted.
• 330 full-fledged investigations were undertaken: 149 new ones and 181
carried forward from 2018.
• 1 judge was removed from office for egregious misconduct.
• 5 judges resigned and publicly agreed never to return to judicial office.
• 4 other judges resigned while complaints were pending, where it had not
been determined permanent departure from office was warranted or
appropriate.
• 7 judges were publicly censured or admonished.
• 26 judges were issued confidential cautionary letters.
The Commission is the New York State government agency responsible for
investigating complaints of misconduct against judges of the state unified court
system and, where appropriate, disciplining such judges for ethics violations.
The Annual Report is available online at www.cjc.ny.gov.
Commentary
In addition to summaries of the year’s public disciplines, confidential cautions and
statistics, the 2020 Annual Report comments on matters, trends and developments
that the Commission has observed through its work. The topics include the
following:
• Judicial Responses to the New Bail Law. The Commission cites precedent
in noting that a judge who in good faith interprets the law need not fear
disciplinary consequences for what may turn out to be legal error that is
reversed on appeal. However, a judge who purposefully fails to abide by
the law, e.g. to make a political point or because s/he personally disagrees
with the law, invites discipline.
• Alcohol-Related Conduct and Driving Offenses. The Commission notes
that judges who are convicted of any alcohol-related driving offense will at
least be publicly admonished, and that aggravating circumstances – such as invoking judicial office to avoid arrest, or a repeat offense – would elevate
the sanction to public censure or removal from office
.
• Unavailability of Foreign Language Interpreters in Some City, Town and
Village Courts. The Commission discusses issues that arise when local
courts are without the resources to provide interpreter services for litigants
and witnesses who need them. It recommends that the Legislature and the
Office of Court Administration work together to fashion a solution.
• Effects of a Judge’s Failure to Cooperate with a Commission Inquiry or
Proceeding. The Commission cites long established precedents for the
proposition that a judge’s cooperation with the Commission is mandatory,
not optional, and that failure to cooperate can result in removal from office.
• Misuse of Parking Placards. The Commission reiterates Chief
Administrative Judge Lawrence Marks’s May 2019 reminder to all judges
that dashboard placards issued by the court system are for official use only,
and that using one to avoid paying for personal parking, or to display when
stopped by an officer for a suspected motor vehicle infraction, may result in
discipline.