Judges Censured
Censures have been imposed by the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct in two matters.
One matter involved disqualification issues
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Robert J. Muller, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Fourth Judicial District (Warren County), should be censured for failing to disqualify himself from matters involving attorneys and law firms that hosted fundraisers for his reelection campaign.
Judge Muller agreed to the censure. The Commission’s Administrator would have recommended suspension from office, if the Commission had authority to do so.
During his 2022 re-election campaign, Judge Muller presided over more than 40 cases in which one of the lawyers had hosted a fundraiser for him, or in which his campaign’s finance chair or co-chair appeared before him. He did so notwithstanding an advisory opinion disqualifying him from such cases, subject to disclosure and remittal – an opinion he withheld from the parties until after election day.
In its determination the Commission stated that the judge’s “multiple failures to disqualify or disclose created at the least the appearance of impropriety and brought reproach upon the judiciary.”
The judge will retire at the end of this year.
The other matter
The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Binghamton City Court Judge Daniel L. Seiden (Broome County) should be censured for contributing to a hostile work environment. Judge Seiden agreed to the censure.
Beginning in 2023, when he objected to a change in the tracking of criminal cases from a manual to a web-based system, Judge Seiden disparaged his co-judges, denigrated the motivations of his administrative judge, blamed the chief court clerk for the loss of capable staff, and impugned the competence of the remaining court clerks, whom he said should “stay out of [his] shorts.” Among other things, Judge Seiden indicated he would adhere to the old case-tracking system.
Judge Seiden’s actions ultimately resulted in his reassignment to the Cortland City Court, where he continued to send disparaging emails to senior court officials, saying for example that their “arrogance [was] breathtaking” and that they were “intoxicated by power and privilege.” In accepting the jointly recommended sanction of censure, the Commission noted that Judge Seiden acknowledged that his conduct was improper and that he “voluntarily completed programs offered by the Office of Court Administration regarding appropriate workplace communication.”
Judge Seiden has been a Judge of the Binghamton City Court since 2008. Although his current term expires on December 31, 2034, he will turn 70 years of age in 2028 and therefore must retire on December 31, 2028.
(Mike Frisch)