Unemployed Now

The resignation of a town court justice was accepted the the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct based on a stipulation of misconduct summarized in a press  release

Kevin E. Copeland, a Justice of the New Hartford Town Court, Oneida County – who was charged by the Commission on Judicial Conduct with receiving unemployment benefits to which he was not entitled – has resigned from office and agreed to never return.

In July 2024, Judge Copeland was served with a Formal Written Complaint, alleging that the New York State Department of Labor (DOL) found that the judge made a “factually false statement” and “concealed…pertinent” information regarding his compensation as a judge which resulted in his receiving nearly $14,000 in unemployment insurance benefits to which he was not entitled. He repaid the money after the DOL findings.

Footnote

Between March 2020 and March 2021, on at least 17 weekly certifications to the DOL, the judge certified that he worked zero days, when he had in fact worked at least one day, either performing his regular judicial duties or presiding over off-hours arraignments through the Centralized Arraignment Part in Oneida County. The judge asserted that the overpaid benefits were based on a misunderstanding during the pandemic.

(Mike Frisch)