Terrence O’Connor (See Profile) of Queens has been censured by the Commission on Judicial Conduct for continuing to serve as a fiduciary after becoming a full-time judge and for neglecting to disclose on four documents that his residence was targeted in a foreclosure action. Records made public Wednesday show that O’Connor, who has been on the Civil Court since 2009, continued to serve as a court-appointed fiduciary in several cases without approval. Full-time judges are not permitted to serve as fiduciaries for nonfamily members without the approval of the chief administrator of the courts. Also, on his initial fiduciary application and three reapplication forms submitted before becoming a judge, O’Connor did not disclose a pending foreclosure action involving his primary residence.
O’Connor, who stipulated to the facts and agreed to the censure, explained that he was unfamiliar with the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct with regard to fiduciary appointments. He also said he had misread the application question on financial liabilities and thought it referred only to prior findings of liability, not potential future findings of liability. The commission said “ignorance” of the ethics rules is no excuse for serving as a fiduciary without approval. It also said O’Connor should have more carefully read the disclosure form to ensure that his responses were accurate.
