Editorial: Don't judge NY judges in secret
Four Latina women have filed a federal lawsuit against Nassau County, saying that they were routinely harassed and discriminated against based on their ethnicity. Credit: Photos.com
Judges are public officials. The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct is a public agency. But when a judge is charged with misconduct, the entire disciplinary process is conducted behind closed doors. It shouldn't be that way.
Formal disciplinary proceedings against judges should be public -- as they were in New York before 1978. Right now the public doesn't learn that a judge has been formally charged with misconduct unless and until he's found guilty. The only exception is if a judge waives that confidentiality.
But openness is a key element of the American justice system. Putting a spotlight on judges in the dock would help deter misconduct by other judges. And people with cases before a judge charged with misconduct should be able to weigh that fact in deciding whether to seek the judge's removal from their case.
Commission officials have asked the State Legislature to open the process to the public once a formal complaint is authorized. The legislature should oblige.
That wouldn't mean publicly airing every gripe, which would undermine the courts' credibility. Last year, out of 1,818 complaints filed, 464 preliminary inquiries conducted and 172 investigations launched, only 19 formal complaints were authorized. It's those formal complaints, and the hearings that follow, that should be public.
Justice is best done in daylight. That's no less true when the person being judged is a judge.
