The state Commission on Judicial Conduct said in its annual report released yesterday that the number of judges it publicly punished in 2012 was up from 2011 while complaints received about judicial misconduct were down. The commission said that it publicly sanctioned 20 judges last year, just above the average of 19 over the past five years. Three judges were removed in 2012, nine were censured, three were admonished and five entered into public stipulations where they resigned and agreed never again to hold judicial office. In 2011, 14 judges were sanctioned by the commission or resigned.
The commission received 1,785 complaints about judges last year and conducted 182 formal investigations, compared with 1,818 complaints and 172 investigations in 2011. The statistical averages for public sanctions (19), complaints (1,881) and investigations (219) over the last five years were not far off last year’s results, said commission administrator Robert Tembeckjian. "Measured against the last five years, the commission’s statistical record for 2012 was average," he said in a statement.
