A village court justice should be censured for committing what a divided Commission on Judicial Conduct deemed as a series of “misdeeds,” including an incident in which he chased down another motorist with his car and forced him to go to a police station so the man could be charged with a traffic offense. Michael M. Feeder, a justice in Hudson Falls Village Court, Washington County, also was found to have had an out-of-court conversation with a defendant’s mother about a sentence and to have adjourned a case in contemplation of dismissal without the required consent of the prosecution (See the Commission’s Determination).

While “serious” misconduct, Mr. Feeder’s actions did not rise to the “egregious” level the commission has set as the standard for removal, six of nine members concluded. The dissenters argued for removal based on Mr. Feeder’s “vigilante arrest” of the other motorist for failing to yield to a pedestrian, among other misconduct. Richard D. Emery, writing for the dissenters, said Mr. Feeder was less than candid during the commission’s probe and hearing and he “continues to be a danger to the public.” A non-lawyer, Mr. Feeder has been justice in the village of Hudson Falls since 1999. From 1998 to 2005, he also was a justice in Kingsbury Town Court. - Joel Stashenko

Judge Kram Memorial Service Set for Today

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