An upstate town justice has agreed to retire rather than face a formal misconduct proceeding against him by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct for at times ignoring basic courtroom procedures in matters before him. The commission charged that Howard Riley, a justice in Harrietstown Town Court in Franklin County, carried on inappropriate conversations with unrepresented defendants in traffic cases, dismissed or reduced charges against some defendants without notice or the approval of the district attorney and made statements that appeared to coerce defendants into pleading guilty. In one instance, the commission said Riley had a defendant in a small claims action present his defense first, before the claimant presented his case.
Riley, who is not a lawyer, agreed in a stipulation disclosed by the commission on Wednesday that he would retire effective Aug. 1 and not hold judicial office again. Riley had been a justice since 2008. His current term would have expired on Dec. 31, 2015.
