NY Judge Steps Down Amid Allegations He Allowed Old Colleagues to Argue Before Him
The New York Law Journal by Joel Stashenko - May 30, 2008
A part-time Binghamton City Court judge has agreed to leave the bench when his term expires on June 14 under a stipulation with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct. A commission probe found that Robert C. Murphy had improperly "permitted" partners and others in his law firm between 2002, when he took office, and 2006 to argue cases before the two full-time judges in City Court. In his stipulation, Mr. Murphy acknowledged yesterday that if he ever returns to judicial office, the commission could reinstate the charges against him and seek his removal from office. In his response to the charges, Mr. Murphy argued he was not in a position to "permit" his law partners to appear in City Court before other judges. He also contended that he did not know that having other lawyers in his firm argue cases before other City Court judges was prohibited. In 2006, Alan J. Pope resigned as chairman and a member of the Commission on Judicial Conduct when the complaint was filed before the commission against Mr. Murphy. Mr. Murphy and Mr. Pope were partners at Pope, Schrader & Murphy.
OMG! it's the I didn't know defense! How could this be, lawyers keep telling everyone that they are the smartest people in the world. Would this defense work for anyone else except a lawyer? The answer is that lawyers really think (if they can) that everyone else is stupid.
ReplyDeleteYou're absolutely correct, this is outrageous BIAS on the part of the Commission on Judicial Conduct. If people believed in the system of oversight within the courts, then something like this would never have happened because EVERYONE would have been saying "hey, should this be happening" Give this judge the benefit of the doubt, maybe he didn't know. But then EVERYONE else should have been questioning it. THEN IT WOULD NOT HAVE PROCEEDED. What bothers me most is the fact that the Commission on Judicial Conduct goes after guys like this but lets connected bigger judges get away with actual criminal acts. It's total BIAS in the Commission on Judicial Conduct.
ReplyDeleteWe are well aware that the state commission on judicicial conduct is the first stop shopping for those that think they will expose the un-ethical black robes! When the reality is that the JCC gets the information before anyone else, sifts through the reports for future cover-up and determines what judges are involved, and as to whether they are expendable or political enough to ignore, than they dump the material presented for most who are elected and not from the towns and villages, and then play together while discussing all the "losers" they got over on! If you don't think this is how it goes, than you have not had first hand experience or meetings with them...have had their act for awhile now!
ReplyDeleteIf the feds would just storm the offices of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, shut it down and arrest everyone there, the rippling effect would instantly clean up 80% of the disgusting and greedy corruption that has taken place throughout New York's legal system over the last 10 years. I've been embarrassed, as a NY attorney, to be associated with our state legal system over the last decade.
ReplyDeletethe whole thing is corrupt. Three words that they don't know or want to hear: 1)Oversight - 2)ethics - 3)accountability. Independent Non-lawyers should in charge of the oversight! This is all too important to be left to lawyers since you can't trust them in the first place and they are the ones that have screwed up the whole system with their corruption.
ReplyDeleteLet me get this straight. The most important ethics body, the one overseeing state judges, is unethical. Wow. I always wondered about this and have read everything about this judge's committee on this blog. I know a few lawyers, and I've heard them say that certain judges are protected and that they can get away with absolutely anything, and that this judges' committee just goes after the other judges who don't have the juice. And they do this just so pump up the numbers like they're doing a real job. Wow.
ReplyDeletealbany esq - and to anyone else - totally agree with your comments and i am not far from albany and have a direct path from filing a CJC complaint to direct judicial retaliation and more and am working with the site and others to change this - could we exchange stories and info to look for common links? anyone with info write to changecourtsnow@gmail.com
ReplyDeleteThe truth is, the bunch of goons that run the CJC are simple minded thugs, just doing the dirty work of a few old timers. They're just doing their job--what they are told to do. They are directed to can complaints against certain judges, and to do everything possible to destroy others. I've heard those specific instructions from the mouths of the top people at the CJC. How? 'cause I used to work at the DJC. (think: smelly armpit, or overflowing cesspook)
ReplyDeleteDeal with it, that's the way it is. No one is going to stop it. Business as usual.
Back in 1974, I believe, the Hon.Richard Kuh, then the interim Manhattan District Attorney brought the powerful to heal. It concerned itself with what was then called The Sheriff's Panel. The Panel was compromised of an assorted collection of big wigs who served on The Panel for two purposes: To avoid jury service as they were members of a Jury Panel by their membership in The Panel. The other reason was to hob-nob with the Elite of the Criminal Justice System by throwing two gala parties each year where gifts that then usually amounted to a $100.00. The affairs were always Black Tie events with only the powerful invited. This afforded the power brokers with access to those that one day could help them.
ReplyDeleteMr.Kuh introduced many motions to have this organization disbanded it. The Press took the baton and ran with it and the Panel was disbanded and never to be seen again.
The Good Old Boys now needed a less transparent method of influencing their elected officials.
Sometimes persistence works, most times it doesn't.
You know something is really wrong when honest judges are deathly afraid of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, and the crooked judges, or the ones that have just gone astray, aren't concerned at all. It's called A FIX.
ReplyDeleteall we have ever gotten form these clowns is more BIAS, so what's new? I personally know that these bastards have destroyed good honest people only because they spoke out against the 'wrong person' and that was all it took to get anyone disbarred! If we were all honest with ourselves the truthful answer would be, the truth that know ones wants to reveal is, that this is all true.
ReplyDeleteTHE GOVERNOR APPOINTS 4, THE CHIEF JUDGE 3, AND THE FOUR LEADERS NAME THE REMAINING MEMBERS.
ReplyDeleteDo you think the findings of the CJC may tend to be political if the wrong people are charged?
The Commission's findings still have to go to the relevant appellate department for review and punishment.
How could such a system give any confidence to the public that justice will be done?
I can tell you that it is well known that in some jurisdictions that the corruption of the system is well known by some of the members of The Commission.
A large number of the judges come from the smoke filled back rooms of the party that nominated them for office. Just because a judge is on a High Court may only mean the smoke was a lot thicker when they received their nominations to the appellate courts.
Many judges are nothing more than failed lawyers who couldn't make an honest living, and so they do the party line and hope to be rewarded with a part time retirement opportunity for their later years.
A Superior Judge in France has to first attend a schoo for Judges for two years. It is like going to West Point. Many judges in our area only need to take the rubber band off of their bankroll and pay the county leader for a job on the Bench.
Call it the Black line of silence. Those that don't remain silent find themselves swatting tennis balls over tennis nets in North Carolina, See: Suffolk County Judge Stuart Namm, for example.
It is very simple: either you do your job and tow the party line and sell your soul, then you are an ex-judge when you come up for re-election.