Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio will be in jail for another month. That ruling came down Thursday afternoon when Judge Stephen Aronson ruled that Astacio violated the terms of the conditional discharge on her DWI sentence.
She was found guilty of drunk driving last year.
Aronson ordered that Astacio be held without bail until July 6th when a probation report is due.
The hearing Thursday happened after a bench warrant was issued for Astacio’s arrest last week after she missed a court appearance related to her earlier DWI conviction.
She had been in Thailand, and testified that she had no cell phone communication and was unaware she had been ordered to submit to a urine test.
Prosecutor Zach Maurer told Spectrum News that Judge Aronson explained in court it didn’t matter when Astacio found out about the test she had to take; he says as part of her sentence, she had to be available for a random test.
“The judge made very clear the fact that she had decided to travel as far away as she did, that was something that she put herself into. And so she missed the court date and she didn’t submit to the test that she knew she potentially was going to be ordered to take.”
Defense attorney Ed Fiandach says he realizes there has been a lot going on in this case.
“But we also have to recognize that this is the only time in her life that she’s ever been in trouble, and now she’s sitting in the jail, over essentially a DWI."
Fiandach plans to appeal. Astacio still collects her salary. It will be up to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct whether she remains a judge.
