DECISION AND ORDER
In the Matter of the Proceeding of the Judiciary Law in Relation to LAWRENCE
I. HOROWITZ, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Westchester County.
THE COMMISSION:
Raoul Lionel Felder, Esq., Chair
Honorable Thomas A. Klonick, Vice Chair
Stephen R. Coffey, Esq.
Colleen C. DiPirro
Richard D. Emery, Esq.
Paul B. Harding, Esq.
Marvin E. Jacob, Esq.
Honorable Jill Konviser
Honorable Karen K. Peters
Honorable Terry Jane Ruderman
APPEARANCES:
Robert H. Tembeckjian (Alan W. Friedberg and
Brenda Correa, Of Counsel) for the Commission
Jones Garneau LLP (by Deborah A. Scalise) for the Respondent
The matter having come before the Commission on
July 12, 2007; and the Commission having before it the Formal Written Complaint
dated March 20, 2006; the Verified Answer dated December 4, 2006; and the
Stipulation dated June 21, 2007; and the Commission having designated Milton
Sherman, Esq., as referee to hear and report proposed findings of fact and
conclusions of law; and a hearing having been held on February 14, February 15
and March 7, 2007; and respondent having resigned from judicial office by letter
dated June 20, 2007, effective June 22, 2007, and having affirmed that he will
neither seek nor accept judicial office or Judicial Hearing Officer status at
any time in the future; and respondent having waived confidentiality as provided
by Judiciary Law §45 to the limited extent that the Stipulation will be made
public if accepted by the Commission; now, therefore, it is
DETERMINED, on the Commission’s own motion, that the pending proceeding be
discontinued and the case closed pursuant to the terms of the Stipulation; and
it is
SO ORDERED.
Mr. Felder and Ms. DiPirro were not present. Judge Ruderman did not participate.
Dated: July 16, 2007
STIPULATION
In the Matter of the Proceeding Pursuant to Section 44, subdivision 4, of the
Judiciary Law in Relation to LAWRENCE I. HOROWITZ, Supreme Court Justice,
Westchester County.
Subject to the approval of the Commission on Judicial Conduct (“Commission”):
IT IS HEREBY STIPULATED AND AGREED by and between Robert H. Tembeckjian, Esq.,
Administrator and Counsel to the Commission, Lawrence I. Horowitz
(“respondent”), and his attorney Deborah A. Scalise, Esq., that:
1. This Stipulation is presented to the Commission in connection with both a
formal proceeding and an investigation pending against respondent.
2. Respondent was admitted to the
practice of law in New York in 1987 and has been a Justice of the Supreme Court
since 2004.
3. On March 20, 2006, respondent was
served with a Formal Written Complaint, containing two charges.
A. Charge I
alleges inter alia that in February 2005, respondent communicated with the
Yorktown Police Department, the Mount Pleasant Police Department and the
Westchester County District Attorney’s Office, both on behalf of Michelle Nolan,
his close personal friend, who had been stopped for speeding and was arrested
for driving a car that had been reported stolen, and in an attempt to prompt an
investigation against Ms. Nolan’s estranged husband and his brother.
B. Charge II
alleges that respondent lent the prestige of judicial office to his private
business, family and other matters, in that from January 2004 through April 2005
he used his judicial stationery for personal correspondence unrelated to his
official duties, including a bill-paying dispute with a telephone company.
C. The Formal
Written Complaint is annexed hereto as Exhibit 1.
4. Respondent submitted an Answer
dated December 5, 2006, admitting certain facts, denying certain other facts,
and denying knowledge or information sufficient to form a belief as to whether
his conduct violated the Rules. The Answer is annexed hereto as Exhibit 2.
5. A hearing was held before a
referee, Milton Sherman, Esq., on February 14, February 15 and March 7, 2007.
The parties submitted post-hearing memoranda to the referee on May 15 and May
18, 2007. The referee’s report is pending.
6. In 2007, respondent was advised by
the Commission that it was investigating additional allegations against him. The
2007 investigation was unrelated to the charges in the Formal Written Complaint.
7. Respondent cannot successfully
defend the Formal Written Complaint presently pending against him and therefore
has resigned from judicial office. A copy of his letter of resignation, dated
June 20, 2007, is annexed hereto as Exhibit 3.
8. Respondent hereby affirms that he
will neither seek nor accept judicial office or Judicial Hearing Officer status
at any time in the future.
9. Pursuant to Section 47 of the
Judiciary Law, the Commission has 120 days from the date of a judge’s
resignation to complete the proceedings and, if the Commission determines that
the judge should be removed from office, to file a determination with the Court
of Appeals. Pursuant to law, removal from office disqualifies a judge from
holding judicial office in the future.
10. In view of respondent’s
resignation and affirmation that he will neither seek nor accept judicial office
in the future, all parties to this Stipulation respectfully request that the
Commission close the pending matter based upon this Stipulation.
11. Respondent waives confidentiality
as provided by Section 45 of the Judiciary Law to the limited extent that this
Stipulation will be made public if accepted by the Commission.
June 21,
2007
s/ Lawrence I. Horowitz
Respondent
s/ Deborah A. Scalise
Jones Garneau, LLP
s/ Robert H. Tembeckjian
Administrator & Counsel to the Commission
(Brenda Correa, Alan Friedberg, Of Counsel)
click here to
view all three exhibits. to view them individually, click
below.
exhibit
1:
the
formal charges lodged against the judge
exhibit
2:
the
judge's answer
exhibit
3:
the
judge's letter of resignation
