White Plains CitizeNetReporter - City Court Judge Found Too Slow In Reviewing Cases.

WPCNR Evening News. From NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct Press Office. October 29, 2002:The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct has determined that Roseanna H. Washington, a Judge of the White Plains City Court, Westchester County, should be removed from office.

In a determination dated October 1, 2002, the Commission found that Judge Washington failed to render timely decisions in numerous small claims cases, failed to report the delays to court administrators, and failed to respond to letters from the Commission, which was investigating her conduct.

The Commission found that the judge, who sits part-time and has a caseload of only 75 to 80 small claims matters per year, developed a “significant backlog” of cases after becoming a judge in 1997.

Despite the “active intervention” of her administrative judges and numerous complaints from litigants, the delays continued, even after the judge was on notice that the Commission was looking into the matter. The Commission found that Judge Washington “seriously compounded” her misconduct by filing “false, misleading and incomplete” reports of the delayed cases with court administrators.

The Commission concluded that the judge’s conduct “has demonstrated that she is unable or unwilling to properly carry out the duties of a judge.”

The Commission Proceedings

Judge Washington was served with a formal written complaint dated April 16, 2001, and filed an answer dated May 7, 2001. A hearing was held before a referee, Honorable Janet A. Johnson, in White Plains, New York on September 28, 2001. The referee filed a report with the Commission on March 4, 2002. The parties submitted memoranda with respect to the issues of misconduct and sanctions. Oral argument was held on June 20, 2002.

The Commission filed a determination dated October 1, 2002, in which eight members concurred. Three members, Judge Frederick M. Marshall, Christina Hernandez and Alan J. Pope, Esq., were not present.

Court of Appeals Review Next.

The Commission transmitted its determination to the Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals, pursuant to Judiciary Law Section 44, subdivision 7.

A judge may either accept the Commission's determination or, within 30 days from the date he received the determination, make a written request to the Chief Judge for a review of the determination by the Court of Appeals.

Pursuant to Judiciary Law Section 44, subdivision 7, if Judge Washington does not request review by the Court of Appeals, the Court of Appeals will issue an order removing her from office in accordance with the Commission determination. Removal automatically bars a judge from holding judicial office in the future.

If the Commission's determination is reviewed by the Court of Appeals, the Court may accept the determined sanction, impose a different sanction including admonition, censure or removal, or impose no sanction.

Statistics Relating to Prior Determinations

Since 1978, the Commission has issued a determination of removal in 139 cases, 108 of which involved part-time judges. (More than two-thirds of the judiciary in New York State are part-time.) The Commission has censured 207 judges and admonished 190 judges.

The Court of Appeals has reviewed 73 Commission determinations. The Court accepted the Commission’s sanctions in 60 cases. Of the remaining 13 cases, two were increased from censure to removal, and eleven were reduced: eight removal determinations were modified to censure, two censure determinations were modified to admonition, and one censure was rejected and the charges dismissed.


Create an account		The White Plains Daily Internet Newspaper...Founded 2000 A.D....


			Designed and hosted by WestchesterInternet.com