Rebel Without A Job

A non-attorney town court justice should be removed from office, according to the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct.

He has been suspended since March 2023 for failure to complete required training.

Among the several allegations

Beginning in or around 2005 and continuing through in or about March 2023, respondent displayed a statue featuring a Confederate flag on his desk in his judicial office. When the door to his office was open, the Confederate flag was visible from the courtroom. When attorneys used the office to conference cases, the flag was visible to them.

On Facebook

On or about March 21, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme entitled “AMERICAN PRESIDENTS IN UNIFORM,” which depicted former President Clinton in a High School band uniform and former President Obama wearing a turban.

On or about June 13, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme featuring a Black man whose underwear was visible above sagging jeans accompanying the text, “Did you know that sagging pants originated in jail, and the inmates would purposely sag their pants as a sign that they were ‘available’ to other inmates for sex.”

On or about September 20, 2012, respondent shared to his Facebook page a post in support of then-presidential candidate Mitt Romney.

On or about October 1, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme attributing the following quote to former President Barack Obama: “HEY, DON’T BE MAD. YOU’RE THE ONE WHO FELL FOR ALL MY BULLSHIT FOUR YEARS AGO.”

On or about October 12, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme suggesting that then-Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Biden and “the Joker” – a fictional villain from the 1989 movie “Batman” – were “SEPARATED AT BIRTH.”

On or about October 12, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme of then-Vice Presidential candidate Joseph Biden wearing clown makeup accompanied by wording which inquired what was so “DAMN FUNNY” about the “ECONOMIC CRISIS.”

On or about October 12, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme disparaging then-Presidential candidate Barack Obama and suggesting people should vote for then-Presidential candidate Mitt Romney because he was “an adult.”

On or about October 31, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme that stated, “THAT OBAMA SIGN IN YOUR YARD MIGHT AS WELL SAY ‘YES, I’M STUPID.’”

On or about November 16, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a cartoon implying that restaurants charge an “Obamacare surcharge” to fund “FREE CONTRACEPTIVES” for women.

On or about November 17, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme of Hillary Clinton purportedly showing her raising a glass in a toast to four dead Americans, and stating she lied to their families and to the people of the United States because she is “a coward.”

On or about November 17, 2012, respondent posted to his Facebook page a cartoon depicting President Obama as the “FOOD STAMP PRESIDENT” and suggesting food stamp recipients will “BECOME DEPENDENT” and “NEVER LEARN TO FEND FOR [THEMSELVES].”

On or about January 21, 2013, respondent posted to his Facebook page an image of a Columbia University Foreign Student Identification card depicting then-President Obama with the name “BARRY SOETORO.” Related text below the image indicated that the image had been digitally altered.

On or about March 25, 2013, and on or about May 26, 2015, respondent posted to his Facebook page a message suggesting that food stamp recipients are like “ANIMALS” who will “GROW DEPENDENT ON . . .HANDOUTS, AND . . . NEVER LEARN TO TAKE CARE OF THEMSELVES.”

On or about April 2, 2013, respondent posted to his Facebook page a meme depicting then-Vice President Joseph Biden, then-President Barack Obama, and then-Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi in a cage accompanied by the statement, “We don’t need GUN CONTROL. We need IDIOT CONTROL.”

You get the idea.

Rebels

On or about August 26, 2017, respondent shared to his Facebook page a post stating, “Reality check: Chief Justice Taney told Lincoln any ‘state’ had a legal right to secede and return to be a ‘free and independent state’ . . i.e., an independent nation. Thus, General Robert E. Lee was in reality defending his Nation of Virginia against a murderous invasion of his country. And Lincoln was, in reality, the greatest mass murderer America has ever seen. Ain’t reality a bitch?”

On or about September 2, 2017, respondent posted to his Facebook page an image of Confederate soldiers carrying weapons and a Confederate flag that read, “35,000,000 OF US ARE THE LIVING DESCENDANTS OF BRAVE CONFEDERATE SOLDIERS AND SAILORS AND WE WILL NOT SURRENDER THEIR LEGACY TO YOUR IGNORANCE OR POLITICAL AGENDA.”

On or about September 5, 2017, respondent posted to his Facebook page an image stating, “‘I’m proud to be white’ I bet no one passes this on because they are scared of be (sic) called a racist.”

All of the above posts remained viewable as of February 7, 2024, the date of the Complaint.

Violations

In additional significant misconduct, respondent undermined the integrity of the judiciary and created at least the appearance of racial bias by displaying a statue featuring a Confederate flag on his desk in his chambers. According to New York statutes, the Battle Flag of the Confederacy is a “symbol[] of hate.” See, e.g., NY CLS Pub B §146(2), NY CLS Educ §1527-a(2) and NY CLS Gen Mun §99- x(2). It is deeply troubling that this flag was displayed on respondent’s desk in his judicial chambers for approximately 18 years until he was relieved of his judicial duties in 2023. The Confederate flag was viewable from the courtroom and by those who used respondent’s chambers to conference cases. Furthermore, respondent made public Facebook posts which also created the appearance of racial bias, including posts that praised the Confederacy. In a recent matter in which a judge created the appearance of racial bias, the Court of Appeals found removal was warranted stating, “[w]e stress that the ‘appearance of such impropriety is no less to be condemned than is the impropriety itself’ . . ..” Matter of Putorti, 40 NY3d 359, 366 (2023) (citations omitted) By displaying the Confederate flag, a divisive symbol, in his chambers and celebrating the Confederacy in his public Facebook posts, respondent created at least the appearance that he harbored racial bias which severely undermined public confidence in his integrity and impartiality.

He did not cooperate with the investigation

the Commission determines that the appropriate disposition is removal.

(Mike Frisch)