Introduction
Welcome to the official web site of the New York State
Commission on Judicial Conduct.
This web site contains information on the
Commission's authority and jurisdiction, its history and procedures, its recent decisions
and other material related to the field of judicial ethics and professional discipline.
New and Noteworthy
Matter of
Bonnie Simpson Burke
The Commission has
released its decision dated December 15, 2009, to censure Bonnie Simpson
Burke, a Justice of the Perth Town Court (Fulton County). The
determination is available at
Burke Decision. An accompanying
press release is available at
2009
Releases.
Matter of
Paul J. Herrmann
The Commission has
released its decision dated December 15, 2009, to censure Paul J.
Herrmann, a Justice of the Saranac Lake Village Court (Franklin County).
The determination is available at
Herrmann
Decision. An accompanying press release is available at
2009
Releases.
Matter of
James H. Ridgeway
The Commission has
released its decision dated December 15, 2009, to censure James H.
Ridgeway, a Justice of the Richland Town Court and an Acting Justice of
the Pulaski Village Court (Oswego County). The determination is
available at
Ridgeway Decision. An
accompanying press release is available at
2009
Releases.
Matter of
Larry M. Himelein
The Commission
released its decision dated December 17, 2009, to censure Larry M.
Himelein, a Judge of the County, Family and Surrogate's Courts
(Cattaraugus County). The determination is available at
Himelein
Decision. An accompanying press release is available at
2009
Releases.
Matter
of James P. Gilpatric
The Court of
Appeals released its decision dated December 15, 2009, in
Matter of James P. Gilpatric. The Court affirmed
that the Commission has jurisdiction to investigate complaints of delay
in the rendering of decisions and, where appropriate, to pursue formal
disciplinary proceedings and impose discipline for inexcusable delay.
The Court remitted the matter to the Commission for a hearing on the
specific charge of delay at issue in the Gilpatric case.
The Court's decision is available
here.
Prior
Proceedings. The Commission
released its determination dated June 5, 2009, that Kingston City Court Judge
James P. Gilpatric (Ulster County) should be admonished. The
determination is available at
Gilpatric Decision. An accompanying press release is
available at
2009
Releases.
Judge Gilpatric requested review by the Court of Appeals, which
heard oral argument on November 17, 2009.
The Commission's Mandate and History
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is
the state agency responsible for investigating complaints of misconduct against judges of
the state unified court system and, where appropriate, determining to admonish, censure or
remove from office those judges found to have engaged in unethical behavior. All
determinations are subject to review in the Court of Appeals, New York State's highest
court.
For a fuller description of the Commission's mandate
and history, please refer to the section on
Mandate &
History in the
General Information page of this web site.
Commission Profile
There are 11 Commission members, each serving a term
of four years. The Governor appoints four members, the Chief Judge of the Court of
Appeals appoints three, and each of the four leaders of the State Legislature appoints
one. The members serve part-time, without compensation. The Commission elects
one of its members to serve as chair.
The Commission appoints an Administrator and Counsel,
who serves full-time and hires and directs the staff. The Commission's offices are
located in New York City, Albany and Rochester.
In addition, the Commission is assisted by a lawyer
who is the Clerk of the Commission.
A listing of
Commission
Members and
Staff, and selected biographies, are located in
the
General Information
section of this web site.
Contact Information
The best way to communicate with us is by letter,
particularly if your purpose is to make a complaint against a judge. (See the page
within in this web site on
Filing a Complaint.)
You may
also contact us by fax or e-mail, as indicated below; but please note that, by law, all
complaints must be in writing and signed. Communications regarding
complaints should be sent in writing to one of the postal addresses below.
Because the Commission members decide whether to
investigate a complaint, the Commission staff is not permitted to advise complainants or
potential complainants whether their complaints would be investigated.
- Telephone
- 646-386-4800 (New York City)
-
518-453-4600 (Albany)
- 585-784-4141 (Rochester)
-
- Fax
- 646-458-0037 (New York City)
-
518-486-1850 (Albany)
- 585-232-7834 (Rochester)
-
- Postal Addresses
- 61 Broadway ♦ New York, New York 10006 (Principal
Office)
-
Corning Tower, Suite 2301 ♦ Empire State Plaza ♦ Albany, New York 12223
- 400 Andrews Street ♦ Rochester, New York
14604
-
Email
the Commission:
General Inquiries:
scjc@scjc.state.ny.us
Comments Regarding Pending Rules
Changes:
rulemaking@scjc.state.ny.us
For information on
public records, go to
Public Records
on this website.
Useful Links:
New York
State Government Web Site:
www.state.ny.us
New York State
Court System Web Site:
www.nycourts.gov/home.htm
or
www.courts.state.ny.us
Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics:
www.nycourts.gov/search/ethics_opinions.asp
Judicial Campaign Ethics Center:
http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/jcec/
New York State Commission on Public
Integrity:
http://www.nyintegrity.org
Court System's Ethics Commission:
http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/ethics/index.shtml
New York State Judicial Institute:
http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/judicialinstitute/index.shtml
Committee
on Open Government:
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/coog/index.html
New York Codes, Rules
and Regulations:
http://www.dos.state.ny.us/info/nycrr.htm
