New York State’s highest court has fired Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio.
In an eight-page decision, the Court of Appeals upheld the State Commission on Judicial Conduct’s ruling that Astacio should be dismissed from the bench. The court said Astacio had violated five rules of judicial conduct, including seeking preferred treatment after she was arrested for drunken driving, and ignoring the conditions of her suspended sentence by repeated parole violations.
In its ruling, the court said the circumstances of Astacio’s misconduct were “egregious.” The court ruling goes on to say that the justices were not persuaded that Astacio has accepted responsibility for her actions.
You can read the full decision here: https://www.nycourts.gov/ctapps/Decisions/2018/Oct18/94opn18-Decision.pdf
Seventh Judicial District Administrative Judge Craig Doran issued a statement following the ruling, saying this issue has dominated the public’s attention regarding the court system for two-and-a-half years. He says in the meantime, hundreds of judges have been coming to work each day and delivering justice in thousands of cases. Doran says the “unfortunate distraction” of the Astacio case has not hindered the important work of those other judges and court staff.
This isn’t the end of the Leticia Astacio story. She still faces trial on a charge of attempted criminal purchase of a weapon for her attempt to buy a shotgun while on parole.