Professional Courtesy

A city court judge has agreed to an admonishment by the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct.

From the press release

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Westchester County Court Judge Melissa A. Loehr should be admonished for misconduct in two traffic cases.

Judge Loehr agreed to the admonition.

In March 2018, while serving as a Peekskill City Court judge, Judge Loehr dismissed a traffic ticket issued to her co-judge’s daughter, without disclosing the relationship or that the defendant was a friend of her own daughter. Judge Loehr concedes that she should not have presided over the matter. In January 2017, after her daughter received a traffic ticket in the Town of Cortlandt, Judge Loehr called the court on her daughter’s behalf and gratuitously told the deputy court clerk, “I don’t know if you know, I’m the judge in Peekskill.” Judge Loehr concedes it was improper to invoke her judicial status.

In its determination, the Commission stated that in the 2018 matter, Judge Loehr “created the appearance of special consideration based on her personal relationships and she undermined public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.” The Commission also found that in the 2017 matter, the judge’s “gratuitous reference to her judicial office created at least the appearance that she was inappropriately seeking special treatment for her daughter.”

Judge Loehr has been a Judge of the Westchester County Court since 2020. She previously served as a Judge of the Peekskill City Court from 2017 to 2019. Her current term expires on December 31, 2029.

(Mike Frisch)