NCJ Number
212427
Date Published
2005
Length
231 pages
Annotation
This report provides data and information on cases processed by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct in 2004 (January 1 through December 31, 2004).
Abstract
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is the independent agency charged by the State constitution with reviewing complaints of misconduct against judges of the State Unified Court System, which includes some 3,400 judges and justices. Information and data on Commission actions taken in 2004 include accounts of all public determinations; summaries of nonpublic decisions; and various numerical breakdowns of complaints, investigations, and other dispositions. The Commission rendered 20 formal disciplinary determinations in 2004, which included 2 removals, 10 censures, and 8 admonitions. In addition, one matter was resolved by stipulation made public by agreement of the parties. The report provides information on two cases in which Commission determinations were reviewed by the Court of Appeals. The report's presentation of Commission observations and recommendations pertain to public hearings, the interim suspension of a judge under certain circumstances, suspension from judicial office as a final sanction, judicial candidates who imply that they are incumbents of a particular court, personal checks that identify the account holder as a judge, and an amended definition of "economic interest." Budget figures are shown for the years 1978 to the present. Appendixes contain biographies of Commission members and attorneys; a list of referees who served in 2004; a statement of Commission powers, duties, and history; rules that govern judicial conduct; texts of 2004 Commission determinations; and a statistical analysis of complaints.