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Judicial Ethics and Disciplinary Issues 2018 Annual Conference Niagara Falls, New York Judicial Ethics and Disciplinary Issues September 25, 2018 Presented by: This program has been approved for credit in New York State Robert H. Tembeckjian, Esq. for all attorneys including those who are Hon. Michael Mohun Newly Admitted (less than 24 months) and adminstered by 2.0 MCLE Ethics the Onondaga County Bar Asssociation. JUDICIAL ETHICS AND DISCIPLINARY ISSUES ♦♦♦ NEW YORK STATE MAGISTRATES ASSOCIATION ANNUAL MEETING ♦ SEPTEMBER 25, 2018 ♦ NIAGARA FALLS, NY ♦♦♦ HON. MICHAEL M. MOHUN, JUDGE COUNTY COURT, WYOMING COUNTY ROBERT H. TEMBECKJIAN, ADMINISTRATOR COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT ♦♦♦ PART I: CURRENT ISSUES IN JUDICIAL ETHICS & DISCIPLINE NY Times & LA Times Articles on the Judicial Independence 1 Recall of Judge Aaron Persky1 Removal Determination as to Rochester What Takes So Long? 2 City Court Judge Leticia Astacio2 Bill to Expand Suspension Authority, Proposed Legislation 3 Accelerate/Open Commission Proceedings3 PART II: HOW TO AVOID THE JUDICIAL CONDUCT COMMISSION 4 Overview of Commission 4 Slide Show 5 An Overview of the Commission5 Undue Delays 6 Gilpatric6 Civility/Demeanor 7 Romano7 Failing to Cooperate 8 O’Connor8 Audit & Control; Staff Supervision 9 Roller,9 Halstead10 Driving While Intoxicated 10 Landicino,11 Astacio12 Ex Parte Communications 11 Young,13 Ayres14 Asserting Prestige of Office 12 LaBombard,15 Ayres16 CONSULT THE ADVISORY COMMITTEE ON JUDICIAL ETHICS17 AND THE CITY, TOWN AND VILLAGE COURTS RESOURCE CENTER18 1 Appended 2 http://cjc.ny.gov/Determinations/A/Astacio.htm 3 Appended 4 http://cjc.ny.gov/General.Information/SCJC.SlideShow.pdf 5 Appended 6 13 NY3d 586 (2009) 7 93 NY2d 161 (1999) 8 http://cjc.ny.gov/Determinations/O/OConnor2.htm 9 http://cjc.ny.gov/Determinations/R/roller.htm 10 http://cjc.ny.gov/Determinations/H/Halstead.htm 11 http://cjc.ny.gov/Determinations/L/Landicino.htm 12 http://cjc.ny.gov/Determinations/A/Astacio.htm 13 19 NY3d 621 (2012) 14 30 NY3d 59 (2017) 15 11 NY3d 294 (2008) 16 30 NY3d 59 (2017) 17 http://www.nycourts.gov/ip/acje/index.shtml 18 http://www.nycourts.gov/courts/townandvillage/ NEW YORK STATE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT Robert H. Tembeckjian has been Administrator and Counsel to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct since 2003 and has been on the staff of the Commission since 1976. He received an A.B. from Syracuse University, a J.D. from the Fordham University School of Law, and an M.P.A. from Harvard University’s Kennedy School of Government. He was a Fulbright Scholar to Armenia in 1994, teaching graduate courses and lecturing on constitutional law and ethics at the American University of Armenia and Yerevan State University. Mr. Tembeckjian served on the Advisory Committee to the American Bar Association Joint Commission to Evaluate the Model Code of Judicial Conduct from 2003 to 2007 and served on the editorial board of the Justice System Journal, a publication of the National Center for State Courts. He has also served on various ethics committees of the New York State Bar Association and the New York City Bar Association and on the boards of the Association of Judicial Disciplinary Counsel, the Westwood Mutual Funds, the United Nations International School, and the Civic Education Project. New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct 61 Broadway ♦ Suite 1200 New York, New York 10006 www.cjc.ny.gov 7/3/2014 Judicial Directory: Judge Bio Judicial Directory JUDGES OF THE TRIAL COURTS Hon. Michael M. Mohun Wyoming County Supreme Court 147 Main Street Warsaw, NY 14569 (585) 786-3148 ext. 126 Judicial Offices Judge, County Court, Wyoming County (Multi-Bench:County, Surrogate's, Family), Elected, 2014 to 2023 Acting Village Justice of Warsaw , Wyoming County, 2003 to 2004 Acting Tow n and Village Justice of Perry, Wyoming County, 2002 to 2002 Tow n Justice of Bennington, 1998 to 2005 Other Professional Experience Sole Practitioner Brow n & Mohun, Partner Mohun and Killelea, Partner Admission to the Bar NYS, Appellate Division, Fourth Department, 1981 Education J.D., University of Buffalo Law School, 1980 B.A., SUNY at Buffalo, 1976 Professional & Civic Activities Board Member, Attica Central School Board Member, 2011 to 2012 Presenter, NYS Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Programs, 2009 to Present Presenter, Erie Institute of Law Continuing Legal Education Programs, 2009 to Present Board of Directors, NYS Association of Criminal Defense Attorneys, 2010 https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?JUDGE_ID=aW4LHEGWXY3vZ1CCfEKSCg%3D%3D 1/2 7/3/2014 Judicial Directory: Judge Bio Empire State Counsel Honoree, NYS Bar Association Member, NYS Bar Association Criminal Justice Section, executive Committee, 2008 to 2011 Member, NYS Bar Association Special Committee on Procedures for Judicial Discipline, 2005 to 2011 Member, Eighth Judicial District Attorney Grievence Committee; Vice Chairman (2004-2009); Chairman (2009-2010) Instructor, Tow n and Village Justice OCA Continuing Education Program, 2003 to Present Board of Directors, University of Buffalo Law School Alumni Association Coordinator, Wyoming County Mock Trial Team, 2006 to 2013 Advisor, Attica High School Mock Trial Team, 1987 to 2005 Life Fellow of NYS Bar Foundation, 2001 to Present Member, NYS Bar Association House of Delegates, 2001 to 2002 Secretary/Treasurer, Wyoming County Magistrates Association, 1999 to 2001 President, Wyoming County Bar Association, 1998 to 2001 Web page updated: July 03, 2014 https://iapps.courts.state.ny.us/judicialdirectory/Bio?JUDGE_ID=aW4LHEGWXY3vZ1CCfEKSCg%3D%3D 2/2 California Voters Remove Aaron Persky, the Judge Who Gave a 6- Month Sentence for Sexual Assault By Maggie Astor June 6, 2018 Aaron Persky, the California judge who drew national attention in 2016 when he sentenced a Stanford student to just six months in jail for sexually assaulting an unconscious woman, was recalled on Tuesday, according to The Associated Press. He is the first judge recalled in California in more than 80 years. Judge Persky, 56, had served on the Santa Clara County Superior Court since 2003, and he began his most recent six-year term in June 2016. In March 2016, a jury found Brock Turner, then 20, guilty on all three felony charges against him: sexual penetration with a foreign object of an intoxicated person, sexual penetration with a foreign object of an unconscious person, and intent to commit rape. The charges stemmed from Mr. Turner’s actions the year before, when he sexually assaulted a woman near a dumpster after she had blacked out from drinking. The maximum sentence was 14 years. Judge Persky sentenced Mr. Turnerto six months, of which he served three before being released in September 2016. (Mr. Turner also received three years of probation and was required to register as a sex offender, and Stanford expelled him.) The judge said he thought Mr. Turner would “not be a danger to others” and expressed concern that “a prison sentence would have a severe impact” on him. He did not mention the impact of the assault on the victim, known publicly only as Emily Doe, who described her suffering in a more than 7,000-word statement that went viral soon after it was published by BuzzFeed. The CNN host Ashleigh Banfield devoted more than 20 minutes of airtime to reading it almost in its entirety. The sentence, and the backlash to it, prompted California lawmakers to enact mandatory minimum sentences in sexual assault cases, and to close a loophole in which penetrative sexual assault could be punished less harshly if the victim was too intoxicated to physically resist. Judge Persky was later cleared of any official misconduct. Talk of a recall campaign began almost as soon as Judge Persky handed down his sentence, and early this year, the Santa Clara County registrar announced that supporters of a recall — led by Michele Dauber, a law professor at Stanford whose daughter is friends with Emily Doe — had collected enough signatures to put the question on Tuesday’s ballot. Among the effort’s most prominent backers were Anita Hill and Senator Kirsten Gillibrand of New York. In a statement filed with the county registrar, Judge Persky — who previously worked as a prosecutor — said he had a legal and professional responsibility to consider alternatives to imprisonment for first-time offenders. “As a judge, my role is to consider both sides,” he said in the statement. “It’s not always popular, but it’s the law, and I took an oath to follow it without regard to public opinion or my opinions as a former prosecutor.” The campaign against Judge Persky caused discomfort even among some Californians who disagreed with the controversial sentence. They argued that recalling him would have a chilling effect on judicial independence, making other judges reluctant to be lenient in cases where leniency might be appropriate. Follow Maggie Astor on Twitter: @MaggieAstor. Recall of judge in Stanford swimmer sex assault case is first since 1932 By MAURA DOLAN and SHELBY GRAD JUN 06, 2018 | 7:45 AM California voters made history Tuesday, recalling a judge for the first time since 1932. Santa Clara County Judge Aaron Persky was tossed from office, the latest legacy from the Brock Turner case. Turner was a Stanford University swimmer convicted of sexual assault. Persky’s sentencing of Brock stirred national outrage, and the recall effort. Q: What was the Turner case about? Turner attacked an unconscious woman behind a garbage bin on the Palo Alto university's campus in January 2015. At his sentencing, the Ohio native faced up to 14 years in prison. Prosecutors sought a six-year prison term. Persky opted for the lighter prison term and also sentenced Turner to three years of probation. At the time, he said a lengthier penalty would have a "severe impact" on Turner. Public criticism of the sentence escalated when the unidentified victim's 12-page, single- spaced letter that she read aloud in court went viral after it was published by the media.
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