There are 11 members of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. Each serves a renewable four-year term. Four members are appointed by the Governor, three by the Chief Judge, and one each by the Speaker of the Assembly, the Minority Leader of the Assembly, the Temporary President of the Senate (Majority Leader) and the Minority Leader of the Senate.
Of the four members appointed by the Governor, one shall be a judge, one shall be a member of the New York State bar but not a judge, and two shall not be members of the bar, judges or retired judges. Of the three members appointed by the Chief Judge, one shall be a justice of the Appellate Division, one shall be a judge of a court other than the Court of Appeals or Appellate Division, and one shall be a justice of a town or village court. None of the four members appointed by the legislative leaders shall be judges or retired judges.
The Commission elects a Chair and a Vice Chair from among its members for renewable two-year terms, and appoints an Administrator who shall be a member of the New York State bar who is not a judge or retired judge. The Administrator appoints and directs the agency staff. The Commission also has a Clerk who plays no role in the investigation or litigation of complaints but assists the Commission in its consideration of formal charges, preparation of determinations and related matters.
The current members of the Commission and their terms of office are listed below. Asterisk (*) indicates that the appointing authority no longer holds that office.
Commission Member |
Appointing Authority |
First Appointed |
Expiration of Term |
Thomas A. Klonick, Chair |
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman |
2005 |
March 31, 2013 |
Terry Jane Ruderman, Vice Chair |
Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye* |
1999 |
March 31, 2012 |
Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman |
2010
|
March 31, 2014
|
|
Governor David A. Paterson* |
2008
|
March 31, 2012
|
|
Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver |
2010
|
March 31, 2014
|
|
Senate Minority Leader Malcolm A. Smith* |
2004 |
March 31, 2012 |
|
Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco* |
2006 |
March 31, 2013 |
|
Governor David A. Paterson* |
2009 |
March 31, 2013 |
|
Governor David A. Paterson*
|
2000
|
March 31, 2014
|
|
Senate President Pro Tem Dean Skelos |
2011 |
March 31, 2015 |
|
Vacant |
Governor |
March 31, 2015 |
COMMISSION MEMBERS
Honorable Thomas A. Klonick, Chair of the Commission, is a graduate of Lehigh University and the Detroit College of Law, where he was a member of the Law Review. He maintains a law practice in Fairport, New York, with a concentration in the areas of commercial and residential real estate, corporate and business law, criminal law and personal injury. He was a Monroe County Assistant Public Defender from 1980 to 1983. Since 1995 he has served as Town Justice for the Town of Perinton, New York, and has also served as an Acting Rochester City Court Judge, a Fairport Village Court Justice and as a Hearing Examiner for the City of Rochester. From 1985 to 1987 he served as a Town Justice for the Town of Macedon, New York. He has also been active in the Monroe County Bar Association as a member of the Ethics Committee. Judge Klonick is the former Chairman of the Prosecuting Committee for the Presbytery of Genesee Valley and is an Elder of the First Presbyterian Church, Pittsford, New York. He has also served as legal counsel to the New York State Council on Problem Gambling, and on the boards of St. John’s Home and Main West Attorneys, a provider of legal services for the working poor. He is a member of the New York State Magistrates Association, the New York State Bar Association and the Monroe County Bar Association. Judge Klonick is a former lecturer for the Office of Court Administration's continuing Judicial Education Programs for Town and Village Justices.
Honorable Terry Jane Ruderman, Vice Chair of the Commission, graduated cum laude from Pace University School of Law, holds a Ph. D. in History from the Graduate Center of the City University of New York and Masters Degrees from City College and Cornell University. In 1995, Judge Ruderman was appointed to the Court of Claims and is assigned to the White Plains district. At the time she was the Principal Law Clerk to a Justice of the Supreme Court. Previously, she served as an Assistant District Attorney and a Deputy County Attorney in Westchester County, and later she was in the private practice of law. Judge Ruderman is a member of the New York State Committee on Women in the Courts and Chair of the Gender Fairness Committee for the Ninth Judicial District. She has served as President of the New York State Association of Women Judges, the Presiding Member of the New York State Bar Association Judicial Section, as a Delegate to the House of Delegates of the New York State Bar Association and on the Ninth Judicial District Task Force on Reducing Civil Litigation Cost and Delay. Judge Ruderman is also a board member and former Vice President of the Westchester Women’s Bar Association, was President of the White Plains Bar Association and was a State Director of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York. She also sits on the Cornell University President’s Council of Cornell Women.
Honorable Rolando T. Acosta is a graduate of Columbia College and the Columbia University School of Law. He served as a Judge of the New York City Civil Court from 1997 to 2002, as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court from 2001 to 2002, and as an elected Justice of the Supreme Court from 2003 to present. He presently serves as an Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, having been appointed in January 2008. Prior to his judicial career, Judge Acosta served in various capacities with the Legal Aid Society, including Director of Government Practice and Attorney in Charge of the civil branch of the Brooklyn office. He also served as Deputy Commissioner and First Deputy Commissioner of the New York City Commission on Human Rights.
Joseph W. Belluck, Esq., graduated magna cum laude from the SUNY-Buffalo School of Law in 1994, where he served as Articles Editor of the Buffalo Law Review and where he was an adjunct lecturer on mass torts. He is a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Belluck & Fox, LLP, which focuses on asbestos, consumer, environmental and defective product litigation. Mr. Belluck previously served as counsel to the New York State Attorney General, representing the State of New York in its litigation against the tobacco industry, as a judicial law clerk for Justice Lloyd Doggett of the Texas Supreme Court, as staff attorney and consumer lobbyist for Public Citizen in Washington, D.C., and as Director of Attorney Services for Trial Lawyers Care, an organization dedicated to providing free legal assistance to victims of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Mr. Belluck has lectured frequently on product liability, tort law and tobacco control policy. He is an active member of several bar associations is a recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s Legal Ethics Award.
Joel Cohen, Esq., is a graduate of Brooklyn College and New York University Law School, where he earned a J.D. and an LL.M. He is a partner in Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP in Manhattan, which he joined in 1985. Mr. Cohen previously served as a prosecutor for ten years, first with the New York State Special Prosecutor's Office and then as Assistant Attorney-in-Charge with the US Justice Department's Organized Crime & Racketeering Section in the Eastern District of New York. He is a member of the Federal Bar Council and is an Adjunct Professor of Law teaching Professional Responsibility at Fordham Law School, having previously done so at Brooklyn Law School. He widely lectures on Professional Responsibility. Mr. Cohen is the author of three books dealing with religion -- Moses: A Memoir (Paulist Press 2003), Moses and Jesus: A Conversation (Dorrance Publishing 2006) and David and Bathsheba: Through Nathan's Eyes (Paulist Press 2007). He also authored Truth Be Veiled: A Justin Steele Murder Case (Coffeetown Press, 2010), a novel on legal ethics and truth. Mr. Cohen has authored over 200 articles in legal periodicals, including a bimonthly column on "Ethics and Criminal Practice" for the New York Law Journal, and columns for Law.com and Huffington Post.
Richard D. Emery, Esq., is a graduate of Brown University and Columbia Law School (cum laude), where he was a Harlan Fiske Stone Scholar. He is a partner in the law firm of Emery Celli Brinckerhoff and Abady in Manhattan. Mr. Emery serves on the New York City Bar Association's Committee on Election Law, the Advisory Board of the National Police Accountability Project, and the Commission on Public Integrity. He is also active in the Association of Trial Lawyers of America and the Municipal Arts Society Legal Committee, on the New York County Lawyers Association Committee on Judicial Independence and on the Board of Children's Rights, the national children's rights advocacy organization. His honors include the Common Cause/NY, October 2000, "I Love an Ethical New York" Award for recognition of successful challenges to New York's unconstitutionally burdensome ballot access laws and overall work to promote a more open democracy; the New York Magazine, March 20, 1995, "The Best Lawyers In New York" Award for recognition of successful Civil Rights litigation; the Park River Democrats Public Service Award, June 1989; and the David S. Michaels Memorial Award, January 1987, for Courageous Effort in Promotion of Integrity in the Criminal Justice System from the Criminal Justice Section of the New York State Bar Association.
Paul B. Harding, Esq., is a graduate of the State University of New York at Oswego and the Albany Law School at Union University. He is the Managing Partner in the law firm of Martin, Harding & Mazzotti, LLP in Albany, New York. He is on the Board of Directors of the New York State Trial Lawyers Association and the Marketing and Client Services Committee for the American Association for Justice. He is also a member of the New York State Bar Association and the Albany County Bar Association. He is currently on the Steering Committee for the Legal Project, which was established by the Capital District Women's Bar Association to provide a variety of free and low cost legal services to the working poor, victims of domestic violence and other underserved individuals in the Capital District of New York State.
Nina M. Moore received her B.A. from Knox College (Magna Cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa) and her M.A. and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Chicago. She is an Associate Professor of Political Science at Colgate University, where she has headed the Research Council and the Faculty Development Council. She was appointed to the endowed Arnold R. Sio Chair in Diversity and Community for 2009-2011, as part of which she spearheaded campus-wide initiatives promoting faculty and student research on diversity. Professor Moore previously held teaching positions at DePaul University, the University of Minnesota and Loyola University of Chicago. A member of the American Political Science Association, Professor Moore was selected to chair the Constitutional Law and Jurisprudence Division of the national organization for 2011-2012. Professor Moore is the author of Racial Tracking and Criminal Justice in America: Policy Makers, the Public, and Law Enforcement (Cambridge University Press, forthcoming), Governing Race: Politics, Policy and the Politics of Race (Praeger 2000) and various articles and papers on the Supreme Court, Congress and public policy matters. She has served on the editorial board of the Ralph Bunche Journal of Public Affairs, and is also a member of the New York State Advisory Council on Underage Alcohol Consumption and Youth Substance Abuse.
Honorable Karen K. Peters received her B.A. from George Washington University (cum laude) and her J.D. from New York University (cum laude; Order of the Coif). From 1973 to 1979 she was engaged in the private practice of law in Ulster County, served as an Assistant District Attorney in Dutchess County and was an Assistant Professor at the State University of New York at New Paltz, where she developed curricula and taught courses in the area of criminal law, gender discrimination and the law, and civil rights and civil liberties. In 1979 she was selected as the first counsel to the newly created New York State Division on Alcoholism and Alcohol Abuse and remained counsel until 1983. In 1983 she was the Director of the State Assembly Government Operations Committee. Elected to the bench in 1983, she remained Family Court Judge for the County of Ulster until 1992, when she became the first woman elected to the Supreme Court in the Third Department. Justice Peters was appointed to the Appellate Division, Third Department, by Governor Mario M. Cuomo on February 3, 1994. She was reappointed by Governor George E. Pataki in 1999 and 2004, Governor Eliot L. Spitzer in 2007, and Governor Andrew M. Cuomo in 2011. Justice Peters has served as Chairperson of the Gender Bias Committee of the Third Judicial District, and on numerous State Bar Committees, including the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on Alcoholism and Drug Abuse, and the New York State Bar Association Special Committee on Procedures for Judicial Discipline. She was appointed by Chief Judge Jonathan Lippman in 2009 to the New York State Justice Task Force to examine the causes of wrongful convictions and make appropriate recommendations to safeguard against such convictions. Throughout her career, Justice Peters has taught and lectured extensively in the areas of Family Law, Judicial Education and Administration, Criminal Law, Appellate Practice and Alcohol and the Law.
Richard A. Stoloff, Esq., graduated from The City College of the City University of New York, and Brooklyn Law School. He is a partner in the law firm of Stoloff & Silver, LLP, in Monticello, New York, and he serves as Town Attorney for the Town of Mamakating. Mr. Stoloff is a past President of the Sullivan County Bar Association has has chaired its Grievance Committee since 1994. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and has served on its House of Delegates. He is also a member of the American Bar Association and the New York State Trial Lawyers Association.
RECENT MEMBERS
Stephen R. Coffey, Esq., served on the Commission from April 1995 through March 2011. He served as Vice Chair of the Commission from 2008-2011. Mr. Coffey is a graduate of Siena College and the Albany Law School at Union University. He is a partner in the law firm of O’Connell and Aronowitz in Albany. He was an Assistant District Attorney in Albany County from 1971-75, serving as Chief Felony Prosecutor in 1974-75. He has also been appointed as a Special Prosecutor in Fulton and Albany Counties. Mr. Coffey is a member of the New York State Bar Association, where he serves on the Criminal Justice Section Executive Committee and lectures on Criminal and Civil Trial Practice, the Albany County Bar Association, the New York State Trial Lawyers Association, the New York State Defenders Association, and the Association of Trial Lawyers of America.
Elizabeth B. Hubbard served on the Commission from 2008 to 2011. She is a graduate of Smith College (B.A., summa cum laude) and the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, where she earned a masters degree. She served as Executive Director of the Committee for Modern Courts and is presently a member of the Modern Courts Board of Directors. She served previously as President and Judicial Director of the New York State League of Women Voters, President of the League of Women Voters of Huntington, Founding Chairperson of the Huntington Township Chamber Foundation, a recent President of the Huntington Township Housing Coalition, and a member of her Village Planning Board. Ms. Hubbard has also served as a member of the Dominick Commission to reform the State court system, two gubernatorial judicial screening panels, the State Bar Association’s Committee on Courts and the Community and the American Judicature Society. Ms. Hubbard also worked on improving prison conditions when she served as Chair of the Correctional and Osborne Associations.
Marvin E. Jacob, Esq., served on the Commission from April 2006 to September 2009. He is a graduate of Brooklyn College and New York Law School (cum laude). Mr. Jacob was a partner in the Business Finance & Restructuring Department of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, LLP, until his recent retirement. His practice included litigation in the bankruptcy courts and federal district and appellate courts. Mr. Jacob currently serves as a consultant and mediator in bankruptcy, litigation and SEC matters. Mr. Jacob was formerly Associate Regional Administrator, New York Regional Office, US Securities & Exchange Commission (1964-1979). He has served as adjunct professor of law at New York Law School and recently received a Distinguished Service Award for twenty-five years of service as a faculty member. Mr. Jacob is Chairman of the Board of Legal Assistance for the Jewish Poor, a member of the Advisory Board of Chinese American Planning Council, a member of and counsel to the Board of the Memorial Foundation For Jewish Culture, and Chairman of YouthBridge-NY. Mr. Jacob has published and lectured extensively on bankruptcy issues and has been recognized with many legal and community awards. He is the co-editor of Reorganizing Failing Businesses, recently published by the American Bar Association, and Restructurings, published by Euromoney Books. Mr. Jacob is listed in, among others, The Best Lawyers in America and The Best Lawyers in New York.
Honorable Jill Konviser served on the Commission from 2006 to 2010. She is a graduate of the State University of New York at Binghamton and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. She was appointed to the Court of Claims by Governor George E. Pataki in 2005, has been designated an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court and currently hears criminal cases in New York City. She served as the Inspector General of the State of New York from December 2002 through March 2005. Prior to that, she served for five years as Senior Assistant Counsel to Governor Pataki, focusing on criminal justice issues. From 1995 until 1997, she was a manager with KPMG, and in 1997, she held the position of Deputy Inspector General of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority. She also served as a New York County Assistant District Attorney from 1990 to 1995, and was an Adjunct Professor at Fordham Law School and Cardozo Law School.