Quick On the Contempt Trigger
The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct has imposed a censure of a Utica City Court judge for his holding two disruptive defendants in summary contempt.
In one matter, the judge found five contempts in one proceeding and ordered five consecutive 30 day sentences.
In the other, the defendant got 30 days for “smirking.”
On two occasions respondent abused his judicial power by summarily holding defendants in contempt of court and depriving them of their liberty without due process. One defendant, who was disrespectful during a sentencing proceeding, was sentenced to a total of 150 days in jail on five separate counts of summary contempt, which respondent imposed in quick succession without issuing appropriate warnings or providing the defendant with an opportunity to make a statement in defense or extenuation of his conduct. Another defendant was held in contempt and sentenced to 30 days in jail for “smirking” as he was leaving the courtroom after the proceeding had ended. In before exercising his contempt power and sending the defendants to jail.
The Commission also expressed concern about other courtroom demeanor issues
While the record before us depicts a judge who holds defendants and lawyers to exacting standards of courtroom behavior and is quick to lecture them for perceived displays of disrespect (e.g., scolding Mr. Blount’s lawyer and telling him to “shut up” when he quietly spoke to his client), respondent’s own behavior fell short of the required standards. On several occasions he made injudicious, disparaging comments to and about attorneys. Respondent twice referred to a prosecutor as “a cigar store Indian” for not speaking during plea discussions. Such language was snide and demeaning, although we do not consider the term racially offensive in this context (see Matter of Duckman, 92 NY2d 141, 151 [1998] [judge described prosecutors as “mannequins” and “puppets” as part of a pattern of “open-court sarcasm and ridicule”). In another case, involving a 74-year old defendant who pled guilty to Disorderly Conduct, respondent stated derisively that the conviction gave the prosecutor “another notch on his belt.” In a case where the prosecutor proposed a plea involving forfeiture of funds seized from the defendant, respondent speculated that the district attorney “wants to buy a new couch for his office” or “wants a new laptop or whatever.” Respondent’s flippant remarks were not only discourteous but impugned the lawyers’ integrity and undermine their role in the eyes of defendants and the public, which is inconsistent with established ethical standards requiring judges to act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary and to treat lawyers with courtesy, dignity and patience…
The commission’s press release is linked here.
The press release notes another allegation
The Commission dismissed an allegation that Judge Popeo had used a racial epithet in an off the record courtroom conversation with a lawyer. In dismissing the charge, the Commission noted the “conflicting testimony” and the difficulty of proving and rebutting a charge concerning a comment allegedly made off the record six years earlier.
(Mike Frisch)