A town justice in New Paltz, New York, who has also maintained a practice as a divorce attorney, has retired after the state Commission on Judicial Conduct accused him of signing an arrest warrant for a man, when he had also been retained as an attorney for the man’s wife.

Jonathan D. Katz, a two-decade veteran of the bench, said in a phone interview Monday that the incident was an accident, but that it was time for him to retire.

“I was not accused of doing it on purpose,” Katz said. “I think it’s recognized that it was an accidental error. As soon as it came to my attention, I recused myself from the case.”

Katz said, regardless of whether the action was intentional or not, judges are held to a high standard that he wanted to respect. He chose to leave the position, which was part-time, rather than litigate the issue with the commission.

He was represented in the matter by Timothy Murphy, an attorney from Saugerties, New York, in Ulster County.

A complaint sent to Katz and his attorney by the commission in February alleged two charges of judicial misconduct related to the incident. The first concerned the judicial action taken against his client’s husband, and the second was included because Katz continued to represent her after taking the judicial action.

Katz represented the woman in her divorce for nearly two years, during which his office made several filings at the trial court level, the complaint said. At one point, his client filed a complaint with the police alleging harassment charges against her husband.

The complaint was sent to the New Paltz Town Court, along with a request for an arrest warrant and “stay-away” order. About a week later, Katz signed an arrest warrant and temporary order of protection, according to the complaint. His client’s husband was later arrested, pursuant to the warrant signed by Katz, who said he did so accidentally.

Katz was retained to represent his client in the divorce in September 2016. The second charge said he continued to represent her until November 2018, even though he signed the arrest warrant for her husband in December 2017.

Robert Tembeckjian, the administrator of the commission, said the case represented a conflict of interest on the part of Katz.

“A judge must be and appear impartial if the public is to have confidence in the integrity of the courts,” Tembeckjian said. “It is an obvious and egregious conflict for a part-time judge to take action in a criminal case against the spouse of a client he is simultaneously representing in a related matrimonial matter.”

Katz resigned from office last week and agreed not to seek judicial office again. He had been a justice of the New Paltz Town Court since 1995 and made $29,355 in the part-time position, according to the commission.

Katz has his own practice focusing on divorce, family law, and traffic violations in New Paltz. He said he plans to continue in private practice.

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