"Professional Courtesy"

A longtime family court judge and acting Supreme Court justice for Albany County has been censured by the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The judge drove after drinking at a private club. When he came upon a sobriety checkpoint, he turned his car around (an illegal u-turn) and drove for about a half a mile before being stopped by pursuing police officers. He used mouthwash to conceal the odor of alcohol, identified himself as a family court judge and repeatedly asked for "professional courtesy." He tried to contact the prosecuting DA by phone but was unable to reach him. He later was convicted of alcohol-related driving charges.

A dissent would remove him from the bench.

The judge was driving with the vanity plates  FCJ, meaning family court judge. (Mike Frisch)