A town court justice from upstate Madison County has agreed to resign amid a disciplinary proceeding against him for allegedly accosting a teen in his neighborhood. The state Commission on Judicial Conduct said it would discontinue the misconduct proceedings against James Roman, justice of Sullivan Town Court, if Roman agreed in a stipulation to step down. Roman, an attorney in Chittenango who has been a justice since 1998, has submitted a resignation as judge effective July 3. In his stipulation, he agreed not to seek or hold judicial office in New York again.
The commission said that on Aug. 12, 2011, Roman confronted a 15-year-old who was riding a bicycle in Roman's neighborhood, confiscated and allegedly damaged the bike, yelled profanities at the youth and, when the teen and a friend returned to retrieve the bike, wielded a baseball bat and told the boy he did not want him on his property or in his neighborhood.
