2006 New York Code - Commission on judicial conduct; membership; organization and procedure; review by court of appeals; discipline of judges.

 
    §  22.  a.  There  shall  be  a  commission  on  judicial conduct. The
  commission on judicial conduct shall receive, initiate, investigate  and
  hear  complaints with respect to the conduct, qualifications, fitness to
  perform or performance of official duties of any judge or justice of the
  unified court system, in the manner provided by law; and, in  accordance
  with  subdivision  d  of  this  section,  may  determine that a judge or
  justice be admonished,  censured  or  removed  from  office  for  cause,
  including,  but not limited to, misconduct in office, persistent failure
  to perform his or her duties, habitual intemperance, and conduct, on  or
  off  the  bench, prejudicial to the administration of justice, or that a
  judge or justice be retired for mental or physical disability preventing
  the proper performance of his or her  judicial  duties.  The  commission
  shall transmit an* such determination to the chief judge of the court of
  appeals who shall cause written notice of such determination to be given
  to  the  judge  or  justice  involved.  Such judge or justice may either
  accept the commission's determination or make  written  request  to  the
  chief  judge,  within  thirty  days  after receipt of such notice, for a
  review of such determination by the court of appeals.
    * So in original. ("an" should be "any".)
    b. (1) The commission on judicial  conduct  shall  consist  of  eleven
  members,  of  whom  four  shall be appointed by the governor, one by the
  temporary president of the senate, one by the  minority  leader  of  the
  senate,  one  by the speaker of the assembly, one by the minority leader
  of the assembly and three by the chief judge of the court of appeals. Of
  the members appointed by the governor one person shall be  a  member  of
  the  bar  of  the  state  but  not  a judge or justice, two shall not be
  members of the bar, justices or judges or retired justices or judges  of
  the  unified  court  system,  and one shall be a judge or justice of the
  unified court system. Of the members appointed by the  chief  judge  one
  person shall be a justice of the appellate division of the supreme court
  and  two shall be judges or justices of a court or courts other than the
  court of appeals or appellate divisions.  None  of  the  persons  to  be
  appointed  by  the  legislative  leaders  shall be justices or judges or
  retired justices or judges.
    (2)  The  persons  first  appointed  by  the   governor   shall   have
  respectively  one, two, three, and four-year terms as the governor shall
  designate.  The persons first appointed by the chief judge of the  court
  of  appeals  shall  have respectively two, three, and four-year terms as
  the  governor  shall  designate.  The  person  first  appointed  by  the
  temporary president of the senate shall have a one-year term. The person
  first  appointed  by  the  minority  leader  of  the senate shall have a
  two-year term. The person first appointed by the speaker of the assembly
  shall have a four-year term. The person first appointed by the  minority
  leader  of the assembly shall have a three-year term. Each member of the
  commission shall be appointed thereafter  for  a  term  of  four  years.
  Commission membership of a judge or justice appointed by the governor or
  the  chief  judge  shall  terminate  if  such  member ceases to hold the
  judicial position which qualified  him  or  her  for  such  appointment.
  Membership  shall  also  terminate  if a member attains a position which
  would have rendered him or her ineligible for appointment at the time of
  appointment. A vacancy shall be filled by the appointing officer for the
  remainder of the term.
    c. The organization  and  procedure  of  the  commission  on  judicial
  conduct  shall be as provided by law. The commission on judicial conduct
  may establish its own rules and procedures not  inconsistent  with  law.
  Unless  the legislature shall provide otherwise, the commission shall be
  empowered to designate one of its members  or  any  other  person  as  a
  referee to hear and report concerning any matter before the commission.


    d. In reviewing a determination of the commission on judicial conduct,
  the  court  of  appeals may admonish, censure, remove or retire, for the
  reasons set forth in subdivision a of this section,  any  judge  of  the
  unified  court system. In reviewing a determination of the commission on
  judicial  conduct,  the  court  of appeals shall review the commission's
  findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record of the proceedings
  upon which the  commission's  determination  was  based.  The  court  of
  appeals  may  impose  a  less or more severe sanction prescribed by this
  section than  the  one  determined  by  the  commission,  or  impose  no
  sanction.
    e. The court of appeals may suspend a judge or justice from exercising
  the  powers  of his or her office while there is pending a determination
  by the commission  on  judicial  conduct  for  his  or  her  removal  or
  retirement,  or while the judge or justice is charged in this state with
  a felony by an indictment or an information filed  pursuant  to  section
  six  of  article one. The suspension shall continue upon conviction and,
  if the conviction becomes final, the judge or justice shall  be  removed
  from  office.  The  suspension  shall be terminated upon reversal of the
  conviction and dismissal of the accusatory instrument. Nothing  in  this
  subdivision  shall  prevent  the  commission  on  judicial  conduct from
  determining that a judge or justice be admonished, censured, removed, or
  retired pursuant to subdivision a of this section.
    f. Upon the recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct or on
  its own motion, the court of appeals may suspend a judge or justice from
  office when he or she is charged with a crime  punishable  as  a  felony
  under  the  laws  of this state, or any other crime which involves moral
  turpitude. The suspension shall continue upon  conviction  and,  if  the
  conviction  becomes  final,  the  judge or justice shall be removed from
  office.  The  suspension  shall  be  terminated  upon  reversal  of  the
  conviction  and  dismissal of the accusatory instrument. Nothing in this
  subdivision shall  prevent  the  commission  on  judicial  conduct  from
  determining that a judge or justice be admonished, censured, removed, or
  retired pursuant to subdivision a of this section.
    g.  A  judge  or  justice who is suspended from office by the court of
  appeals shall receive his or her judicial salary during such  period  of
  suspension,  unless  the  court  directs  otherwise. If the court has so
  directed and such suspension is thereafter  terminated,  the  court  may
  direct  that  the  judge  or justice shall be paid his or her salary for
  such period of suspension.
    h. A judge or justice  retired  by  the  court  of  appeals  shall  be
  considered  to  have  retired voluntarily. A judge or justice removed by
  the court of appeals shall be ineligible to hold other judicial office.
    i.  Notwithstanding  any  other  provision  of   this   section,   the
  legislature  may  provide  by  law  for  review of determinations of the
  commission on judicial conduct with respect  to  justices  of  town  and
  village  courts  by  an appellate division of the supreme court. In such
  event, all references in this section to the court of  appeals  and  the
  chief  judge thereof shall be deemed references to an appellate division
  and the presiding justice thereof, respectively.
    j. If a court on the judiciary shall have  been  convened  before  the
  effective date of this section and the proceeding shall not be concluded
  by  that  date,  the  court  on  the  judiciary  shall  have  continuing
  jurisdiction beyond the effective date of this section to  conclude  the
  proceeding. All matters pending before the former commission on judicial
  conduct  on  the  effective date of this section shall be disposed of in
  such manner as shall be provided by law.