Commission: Ex-judge had conflict of interest
A state panel said former town Justice Jonathan Katz took judicial actions in a criminal case where he had a conflict of interest.
NEW PALTZ, N.Y. >> The state Commission on Judicial Conduct has closed an investigation that led town Justice Jonathan Katz to resign.
The announcement was made in a press release Monday, with commission officials writing that Katz had been charged with taking two judicial actions in a criminal case against a man whose wife he was representing in a divorce case.
“The judge was charged with signing an arrest warrant and a ‘stay away’ order of protection against the defendant/husband despite his conflict of interest, and with continuing to represent the wife in the divorce proceeding notwithstanding having acted as a judge in the related criminal case,” commission officials wrote.
In the release, Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said Katz could not appear to be impartial and hurt the integrity of the court.
“It is an obvious and egregious conflict for a parttime judge to take action in a criminal case against the spouse of a client he is simultaneously representing in a related matrimonial matter,” he said.
The commissioners also wrote in the relase that Katz has “agreed never to seek or accept judicial office at any time in the future.”
In a telephone interview Monday, Katz said he did not realize who the husband was when he signed the warrant.
“There’s strict standards that we as judges need to adhere to,” he said. “As soon as it came to my attention, I recused myself as a judge, but the fact is that judges are held to very high standards. And I accept that and whether something was mistaken or on purpose in many respects just doesn’t matter.
“I accept responsibility for that ... and, rather than litigate the matter, I chose to retire sooner rather than later.”
Information from the
commission reported that Katz had taken the wife as a client in September 2016, with divorce papers filed in state Supreme Court on Jan. 12, 2017. After the wife filed a harassment complaint with town police of stemming from a November 2017 incident, Katz signed an arrest warrant against the husband on Dec. 6, 2017.
In their report, commissioners found that Katz had also signed the arrest warrant “without determining whether the accusatory instrument was facially sufficient” under state Criminal Procedure Law.
“The judge presiding in the consolidated matrimonial and family offense matters in the Supreme Court ... questioned the propriety of (Katz) continuing to represent (the wife) under the circumstance,” commissioners wrote.
Commissioners wrote that Katz, who was paid $29,355 as town justice, had been admitted to the state bar as an attorney in 1983.
Katz on March 8 signed papers admitting to the commission findings and issued his resignation to the Town Board on July 19 without providing a reason. He stepped down Aug. 8 after nearly 24 years on the bench.
Katz last was elected in November 2017 and his term was to end Dec. 31, 2021.
Town Supervisor Neal Bettez said on Monday he did not know the resignation was related to the commission investigation, but added he was not surprised that action had been taken.
“(The husband) brought this up last year and he wanted the (town) Police Commission to do something about this, and we just said that none of this has anything to do with the Police Commission,” he said.
Town Board members on Monday, Aug. 12, were scheduled to interview three candidates to fill the vacancy through 2021, when a full four-year term will be filled by the winner of the election in November of that year.
“What we’re trying to do is ... reflect what the voters would do,” Bettez said. “In the past, voters have had the opportunity to elect non-attorneys to the judgeship but they have consistently chosen ... attorneys.”
Bettez said a decision is expected to be made during a Town Board meeting on Thursday.