NEW YORK, NY. (THECOUNT) — Democrat Judge Leticia Astacio is, officially, no longer a City Court judge.
In a unanimous decision, the Court of Appeals Tuesday removed Astacio from the bench.
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The state’s judicial watchdog agency, the Commission on Judicial Conduct, in April recommended that Astacio be stripped of her judgeship. Astacio was convicted of drunken driving in 2016.
Astacio appealed the decision to the state Court of Appeals, New York’s highest court. But, in a stinging decision Tuesday, the Court of Appeals ruled that Astacio did not seem to grasp the “gravity and impact of her behavior” and how it tainted the public perception of “her fitness to perform her duties” and the overall perspective of the judiciary. source
Without her removal, the Court of Appeals determined, “we conclude that any rupture in the public’s confidence cannot be repaired.”
Her drunken driving conviction, by itself, likely would not have cost Astacio her judgeship. The commission also decided that Astacio:
• Tried to use her position as a judge to influence the State Police officer who arrested her for drunken driving.
• Showed questionable temperament on the bench with several cases, such as when she told a jaywalker that, if there were not laws, she “would run (jaywalkers) over because it’s disrespectful,” or when she told a deputy to “tase” or “shoot” or “punch … in the face” a 16-year-old girl who was fighting efforts to bring her into court.
• Failed to abide by mandates placed upon her after her arrest and conviction.
The Court of Appeals earlier suspended Astacio from the bench. She largely has been absent from work since her DWI arrest, after judicial administrators decided she should not hear cases. She has continued to collect her salary, which currently is $187,200.
Developing.