The Commission also rendered 24 public decisions, 16 of which were removals or permanent resignations from office. The information is reported in the Commission’s newly released 2025 Annual Report, covering its activities in 2024, available online at www.cjc.ny.gov.
The Commission also reported the following:
• 537 preliminary inquiries were conducted.1
• 363 full-fledged investigations were undertaken: 159 new ones and 204 carried forward from 2023.
11 judges were publicly disciplined: three judges were removed from office, three were censured and five were admonished.
• 13 judges resigned and publicly agreed never to return to judicial office. • Seven other judges resigned while complaints were pending, where it had not been determined permanent departure from office was warranted or appropriate.2
• 23 judges were issued confidential cautionary letters.
• 212 matters were pending at year’s end.
Established in the State Constitution as an independent agency in 1978, the Commission evaluates and investigates complaints of misconduct against judges of the state unified court system and, where appropriate, disciplines such judges for ethics violations. Through 2024, it rendered public decisions against 969 judges, including 185 who were removed from office and 144 who resigned and publicly agreed never to return to the bench. All Commission decisions and the Annual Reports are available on the agency’s website: www.cjc.ny.gov.
Judges are prohibited from lending the prestige of their office to advance theirs or others’ private interests. In 2022, the Commission censured a part-time attorney judge for using the word “judge” in her personal email address which she used to represent clients. Despite declaring that she would change her email address, she did not do so which resulted in a new investigation and her resignation in 2024. The Commission’s Annual Report reminds all judges to be careful about the use of their judicial titles when engaged in extra-judicial activities. Oversight of Court-Appointed Fiduciaries The Commission has previously commented on various reforms to the appointment and oversight of court-appointed fiduciaries. It notes that when a fiduciary is believed to have acted wrongfully, and the Commission learns that a judge may have been negligent, in the appointment or oversight, it may investigate and hold a judge accountable. In the Annual Report, the Commission suggests that California’s fiduciary model may be worth exploring. The Commission’s Budget The Commission is pleased that Governor Hochul’s Executive Budget proposal for the fiscal year beginning April 1, 2025, included the Commission requested budget of $9,330,000 – an increase of $430,000 from the prior year. The request was intended to cover contractual and other mandated rises in costs, and to fill vacant staff positions.
