Commission Decisions

 

Search by Judge’s Last Name
Sortable Determination Database
Determination Text Search
Determination Chart 1978 to Present
Determination Chart Pre-1978

 

You can find the Commission's public determinations by entering the judge’s last name, or by using our sortable Determination Database. Commission decisions may also be searched using the Determination Text Search. The entire library of Commission determinations (from 1978 to present) is also available and searchable online through Westlaw® and LEXIS®.

A statistical compilation of the Commission's determinations since its inception in 1978 is available in the first chart below.

From 1975, when the Commission was first established by the Legislature as a temporary agency, to April 1, 1978, when the Commission in its present form was made permanent by an amendment to the State Constitution, the Commission had authority to commence judicial disciplinary proceedings in the Appellate Division or in an ad hoc Court on the Judiciary convened by the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals. Those courts retained jurisdiction as to Commission cases commenced prior to April 1, 1978, after which their authority to hear judicial disciplinary cases ceased. The Court on the Judiciary no longer exists.

The second chart below represents the disposition of Commission cases brought in the Appellate Division and the Court on the Judiciary, prior to the constitutional amendment of April 1, 1978.

Chart totals are updated as of March 19, 2024.

Determinations by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, 1978 to Present    
Disposition Town & Village Justices All Other Judges     Total    
Non-Lawyers Lawyers Total
Removal from Office 121 14 135 47 182
Public Censure 210 31 241 108 349
Public Admonition 154 31 185 98 283
Resignation/Retirement* 81 27 108 24 132
Totals 566 103 669 277 946
* Procedure was instituted in July 2003.

Decisions by the Courts in Commission Cases Pre-April 1978
Disposition Town & Village Justices All Other Judges     Total    
Removal from Office 3 3 6
Suspension* 4 1 5
Public Censure 19 7 26
Public Admonition 0 0 0
Other** 1 1 2
Totals 27 12 39
*Prior to April 1, 1978, the Commission also had the power to suspend a judge from office. One of the five judges included in this category was suspended by the Commission; the other four were suspended by the Appellate Division or the Court on the Judiciary. ** One judge was "directed" by the Court on the Judiciary to amend his conduct. Another judge resigned and was barred by the Court from holding judicial office in the future.