The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has decided to censure a local judge for issues that arose after a 2015 trial.
The commission chose 'censure', which is more serious than an ‘admonition’ but not as severe as removing a judge from the bench, in a case involving State Supreme Court Justice James Piampiano.
The commission censured the jurist in part, because of media interviews that he gave regarding the mistrial he granted in the Charlie Tan murder case.
The administrator for the commission, Robert Tembeckjian says the judge went against ethics rules by doing these interviews.
“The public really needs to know and to believe that judges are going to evaluate cases on the merits of what happens in the courtroom and not on the basis of their own views outside the courtrooms,” Tembeckjian told WXXI News.
The censure against Judge Piampiano also criticized the judge for threatening to have the prosecutor placed in handcuffs and put in jail when the attorney asked to speak as the judge was announcing his decision on a motion to dismiss the case.
The commission says the judge’s language represented a ‘substantial overreaction’ to the attorney’s conduct.
Tembeckjian did credit Piampiano for accepting his responsibility in this case and agreeing that a public discipline was in order.
