Judging While Intoxicated

A New York State town court justice who is also an attorney agreed to be removed from office and never return to the bench. The matter was closed by the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct.

According to a stipulation in the case, the justice was charged with attempting to use her position when charged with a failure to report property damage and leaving the scene offenses after she had backed into another car and left the scene in Ticonderoga, New York.

 She had previously been censured for similar conduct.

The justice also was charged with appearing in court both as a judge and representing a client while under the influence of alcohol. During a break in proceedings where she was counsel, she "smelled of alcohol, laid down on a bench in the courtroom and napped for approximately 45 minutes before a court officer roused her when proceedings were ready to resume."  (Mike Frisch)