Judge them in open court: Legislature should open Commission on Judicial Conduct proceedings to view
The New York Daily News - EDITORIAL - February 7, 2011
It's time to open New York judges' hearings to the public. Some New York judges seem to believe they don't get a fair shake from the agency that polices their actions on the bench. There is one way to find out for sure: The Legislature should open Commission on Judicial Conduct proceedings to view. All its hearings should be public once the panel has found grounds to vote charges against a judge. The commission supports openness, as does every court-watching organization in the state. Only the judges balk at lifting the secrecy that bars the panel from releasing any information except a final order of discipline. Despite this protection, judges complained that the commission has too much power to act against them. They got the ear of the New York County Lawyers Association, which in turn got the attention of the state bar association. Ever friendly to its judicial brethren, the association is asking Albany to give judges consideration beyond the wildest dreams of due process. Its proposals include requiring the commission to give judges early notice of probes, as well as almost full access to the work of investigators. The group also calls for limits on the panel's power to expand probes and for taxpayers to bankroll expenses judges incur in defending themselves. These are not worth a moment's thought. But opening the process to sunlight after the commission has filed charges - a step ignored by the association - would enhance confidence that judges and the public alike are being treated justly.
Good for the New York Daily news. Get out the light and shine it brightly on all of New York's judicial system.
ReplyDeleteThey shouldn't stop at judges, but should make attorney disciplinary hearing public also.
ReplyDeleteBeing an attorney is a privilege and not a right. Every attorney needs to be held publicly accountable for their misconduct.
To be an attorney in NY, and attorney needs to be authorized by the state. Anyone who violates this trust must be held publicly accountable. That includes attorney, judges and anyone else who assumes the responsibility of protecting legal rights.
Clueless Lippman isn't going to go for this. He has sense of reality because he is not held accountable.
ReplyDeleteLippman and the OCA has a sense of entitlement that is beyond greedy. Despite Cuomo's request for reduction in expenditures of all government agencies, Lippman continues to pad the judiciary budget. Lippman built luxury digs for judges in Albany which will take almost 100 years to pay for. http://www.nypost.com/p/news/opinion/editorials/how_suites_it_is_tNovDrJjFdbDpqRjZ71bbK
If Lippman thumbs his nose at such obvious waste and blatantly ignores the reasonable and necessary requests of Cuomo, why would anyone expect that he would be less ethically challenged in addressing misconduct of judges and attorneys?
If Lippman really thinks the judiciary needs all this money, Cuomo should create a commission to audit the Courts to see where all our tax dollars are going.
The recent book/expose entitled 'Ordinary Injustice' by Rochester attorney, Amy Bach says that
ReplyDelete'Ordinary Injustice' results when an entire community of legal professionals cannot see their own responsibility for these lapses.
She reports the shocking stats that 25% of Americas adult population has been 'blessed' with a criminal conviction.
Our Honorable Judiciary intends to 'Get Us' one way or the other.
There can be no question that our third branch of government is the MONEY PIT of all MONEY PITS.
It's a profound SCOURGE on our already bankrupted society.
Lippman should retire to his place of luxury and let the People clean up the mess of the elite.
Anyone with 'True Grit' and integrity could do better.
Oh, but rats don't like the light of day or anything being done out in the open. The light of day is the rat poison we need.
ReplyDeletePerverts perverting Justice.
ReplyDeleteThe CJC is a closet in which the judges judging the judges ignore their own incest with those they investigate or hide their gang rapes by blaming the victims. Tembeckjian, Pervert in Chief, stands guard at the closet door of the CJC.
Video everything and have it available on the web.
The taxpayers now bankroll all lawsuits against state employees: judges and non-judicial employees. Why not finance all actions against judges? Including ethics matters. The public deserves it, and the judges deserve it.
ReplyDeleteLet the sun light in, NOW! The only things that corrupt Judges have to fear is being exposed. They seem to have forgotten that they work for us - we don't work for them!
ReplyDeleteTo: A judge said...
ReplyDelete"The taxpayers now bankroll all lawsuits against state employees: judges and non-judicial employees."
If only that were true, however, I do agree that taxpayers should fund actions against judges.
You are right, the public deserves it and the judges especially deserve it.