New York Commission on Judicial Conduct

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The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct is a judicial disciplinary agency in New York. The commission is responsible for investigating misconduct complaints made about judges in the state.

The commission has jurisdiction over the 3,400 justices and judges serving in the state's unified court system. The commission has no jurisdiction over:

• administrative law judges
• judicial hearing officers
• New York City Housing Court judges
• law enforcement officers
• attorneys
• court staff
• federal judges

The commission receives approximately 1,800 complaints each year.

Note: State judicial disciplinary agencies do not have appellate jurisdiction or authority over federal court judges and justices.

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Organization

Members

The commission is made up of 11 members:

• 3 judges, appointed by the chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals (One judge must be a town or village justice and one judge must serve in the state's appellate division.)
• 1 judge, selected by the governor
• 1 lawyer, chosen by the governor
• 2 members of the public, appointed by the governor
• 4 members of the public, chosen by the state's legislative leaders (These members may or may not be lawyers. They cannot be judges or former judges.)

Members serve four-year terms and may serve more than one term. A chairperson is chosen by the other members of the commission. An administrator and clerk are also appointed. A complete list of all of the members who have ever served on the commission is available here.

Administrative staff

The administrator hires and supervises a staff. The staff consists of the following:

• 3 deputy administrators, which supervise the offices in New York City, Albany and Rochester
• 1 deputy administrator who supervises litigation
• 1 chief administrative officer

All the administrators and the chief administrative officer report to the administrator and counsel. The administrator and the clerk of the commission report to the commission.

Complaint procedure

Confidentiality

Pursuant to Judiciary Law sections 44 and 45, judicial misconduct proceedings must remain confidential. However, judges may waive their right to confidentiality. Confidentiality may also end if the commission decides a judge should be disciplined publicly.

Complaint investigation/resolution process

Once a complaint is received, an initial review and inquiry are conducted by the administrative staff. The commission then reviews the complaint. All complaints are reviewed by the commission.

When warranted, an investigation is ordered. Formal charges may be filed against a judge, based on the results of the investigation. A hearing and other due process proceedings then take place. A commission makes a determination as to whether a judge will be sanctioned for misconduct. The court of appeals, the state's highest court, reviews all determinations issued by the commission.

Complaint statistics

2003-2012

The table below compares the number of misconduct complaints received by the commission, the number of complaints investigated and the number of complaints that were resolved each year. Statistics were compiled from information available on the commission's website for the years 2003 to 2012. In years where more complaints were resolved than received, some complaints resolved may have been carried over from previous years.

	2012	2011	2010	2009	2008	2007	2006	2005	2004	2003
Complaints Received	1785	1818	2025	1855	1923	1711	1500	1565	1546	1463
Complaints Investigated	182	172	225	257	262	192	267	260	255	235
Complaints Resolved	460	464	439	471	354	413	375	366	415	394

Governing laws

The commission operates and carries out its duties under the following authorities:

• Article VI, Section 22, The Constitution of New York
• Judiciary Law: §§40-48
• Commission Operating Procedures & Rules: 22 NYCRR Parts 7000, 7001
• Rules Governing Judicial Conduct: 22 NYCRR Part 100

History

Before the commission was created, the investigation and prosecution of misconduct committed by state court judges was generally performed by other judges. However, these various systems were generally believed to be ineffective. In the 100 years before the commission was created, a total of 23 judges were disciplined for misconduct in the state. There was no staff, no office where complaints could be sent or an organization that conducted formal investigations into complaints of misconduct by judges. The "ad hoc" court which heard judicial discipline matters only met 6 times before 1974.

The New York State Legislature began making changes to the judicial discipline system beginning in 1974. A temporary commission started work, in January 1975, with a full-time professional staff to investigate and prosecute judicial misconduct cases. In 1976 and 1977, voters approved the commission. It became a permanent state agency, and the powers of the commission were added, via an amendment, to the state's constitution in 1976. A second constitutional amendment, which took effect on April 1, 1978, created the commission in its present form, by increasing the number of members and expanding the commission's jurisdiction.

Contact information

New York City

61 Broadway
Suite 1200
New York, NY 10006

Phone: (646) 386-4800
Fax: (518) 299-1757

Albany

Empire State Plaza
Corning Tower, Suite 2301
Albany, NY 12223

Phone: (518) 453-4600
Fax: (518) 299-1757

Rochester

400 Andrews Street
Suite 700
Rochester, NY 14604

Phone: (585) 784-4141
Fax: (518) 299-1757

For general inquiries, the commission can be contacted via email at: cjc@cjc.ny.gov.

See also

• Courts in New York

External links

• New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, accessed June 24, 2014
• New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, "Slideshow"