Commission on judicial conduct; membership; organization and procedure; review by court of appeals; discipline of judges

§ 22. a. There shall be a commission on judicial conduct. The\ncommission on judicial conduct shall receive, initiate, investigate and\nhear complaints with respect to the conduct, qualifications, fitness to\nperform or performance of official duties of any judge or justice of the\nunified court system, in the manner provided by law; and, in accordance\nwith subdivision d of this section, may determine that a judge or\njustice be admonished, censured or removed from office for cause,\nincluding, but not limited to, misconduct in office, persistent failure\nto perform his or her duties, habitual intemperance, and conduct, on or\noff the bench, prejudicial to the administration of justice, or that a\njudge or justice be retired for mental or physical disability preventing\nthe proper performance of his or her judicial duties. The commission\nshall transmit an* such determination to the chief judge of the court of\nappeals who shall cause written notice of such determination to be given\nto the judge or justice involved. Such judge or justice may either\naccept the commission's determination or make written request to the\nchief judge, within thirty days after receipt of such notice, for a\nreview of such determination by the court of appeals.\n * So in original. ("an" should be "any".)\n b. (1) The commission on judicial conduct shall consist of eleven\nmembers, of whom four shall be appointed by the governor, one by the\ntemporary president of the senate, one by the minority leader of the\nsenate, one by the speaker of the assembly, one by the minority leader\nof the assembly and three by the chief judge of the court of appeals. Of\nthe members appointed by the governor one person shall be a member of\nthe bar of the state but not a judge or justice, two shall not be\nmembers of the bar, justices or judges or retired justices or judges of\nthe unified court system, and one shall be a judge or justice of the\nunified court system. Of the members appointed by the chief judge one\nperson shall be a justice of the appellate division of the supreme court\nand two shall be judges or justices of a court or courts other than the\ncourt of appeals or appellate divisions. None of the persons to be\nappointed by the legislative leaders shall be justices or judges or\nretired justices or judges.\n (2) The persons first appointed by the governor shall have\nrespectively one, two, three, and four-year terms as the governor shall\ndesignate. The persons first appointed by the chief judge of the court\nof appeals shall have respectively two, three, and four-year terms as\nthe governor shall designate. The person first appointed by the\ntemporary president of the senate shall have a one-year term. The person\nfirst appointed by the minority leader of the senate shall have a\ntwo-year term. The person first appointed by the speaker of the assembly\nshall have a four-year term. The person first appointed by the minority\nleader of the assembly shall have a three-year term. Each member of the\ncommission shall be appointed thereafter for a term of four years.\nCommission membership of a judge or justice appointed by the governor or\nthe chief judge shall terminate if such member ceases to hold the\njudicial position which qualified him or her for such appointment.\nMembership shall also terminate if a member attains a position which\nwould have rendered him or her ineligible for appointment at the time of\nappointment. A vacancy shall be filled by the appointing officer for the\nremainder of the term.\n c. The organization and procedure of the commission on judicial\nconduct shall be as provided by law. The commission on judicial conduct\nmay establish its own rules and procedures not inconsistent with law.\nUnless the legislature shall provide otherwise, the commission shall be\nempowered to designate one of its members or any other person as a\nreferee to hear and report concerning any matter before the commission.\n d. In reviewing a determination of the commission on judicial conduct,\nthe court of appeals may admonish, censure, remove or retire, for the\nreasons set forth in subdivision a of this section, any judge of the\nunified court system. In reviewing a determination of the commission on\njudicial conduct, the court of appeals shall review the commission's\nfindings of fact and conclusions of law on the record of the proceedings\nupon which the commission's determination was based. The court of\nappeals may impose a less or more severe sanction prescribed by this\nsection than the one determined by the commission, or impose no\nsanction.\n e. The court of appeals may suspend a judge or justice from exercising\nthe powers of his or her office while there is pending a determination\nby the commission on judicial conduct for his or her removal or\nretirement, or while the judge or justice is charged in this state with\na felony by an indictment or an information filed pursuant to section\nsix of article one. The suspension shall continue upon conviction and,\nif the conviction becomes final, the judge or justice shall be removed\nfrom office. The suspension shall be terminated upon reversal of the\nconviction and dismissal of the accusatory instrument. Nothing in this\nsubdivision shall prevent the commission on judicial conduct from\ndetermining that a judge or justice be admonished, censured, removed, or\nretired pursuant to subdivision a of this section.\n f. Upon the recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct or on\nits own motion, the court of appeals may suspend a judge or justice from\noffice when he or she is charged with a crime punishable as a felony\nunder the laws of this state, or any other crime which involves moral\nturpitude. The suspension shall continue upon conviction and, if the\nconviction becomes final, the judge or justice shall be removed from\noffice. The suspension shall be terminated upon reversal of the\nconviction and dismissal of the accusatory instrument. Nothing in this\nsubdivision shall prevent the commission on judicial conduct from\ndetermining that a judge or justice be admonished, censured, removed, or\nretired pursuant to subdivision a of this section.\n g. A judge or justice who is suspended from office by the court of\nappeals shall receive his or her judicial salary during such period of\nsuspension, unless the court directs otherwise. If the court has so\ndirected and such suspension is thereafter terminated, the court may\ndirect that the judge or justice shall be paid his or her salary for\nsuch period of suspension.\n h. A judge or justice retired by the court of appeals shall be\nconsidered to have retired voluntarily. A judge or justice removed by\nthe court of appeals shall be ineligible to hold other judicial office.\n i. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the\nlegislature may provide by law for review of determinations of the\ncommission on judicial conduct with respect to justices of town and\nvillage courts by an appellate division of the supreme court. In such\nevent, all references in this section to the court of appeals and the\nchief judge thereof shall be deemed references to an appellate division\nand the presiding justice thereof, respectively.\n j. If a court on the judiciary shall have been convened before the\neffective date of this section and the proceeding shall not be concluded\nby that date, the court on the judiciary shall have continuing\njurisdiction beyond the effective date of this section to conclude the\nproceeding. All matters pending before the former commission on judicial\nconduct on the effective date of this section shall be disposed of in\nsuch manner as shall be provided by law.\n