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A town justice in Westchester County received a sanction Monday after a state disciplinary panel found he mentioned he was a judge during a confrontation with a smoke shop owner, and again while defending comments he made as an attorney perceived to be racist by a judge.

Michael Tawil, an attorney and justice of the Ossining Town Court, agreed to be censured by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, which disclosed the sanction Monday.

It won't follow him for long; Tawil's current term ends this year, and he didn't run for reelection. He ran for Westchester County Court this year, but was unsuccessful.

The determination is actually related to a separate matter from the commission this year that resulted in the admonishment of Brooklyn Supreme Court Justice Genine Edwards. She was the judge that perceived Tawil's comments to be racist.

The comment was part of a broader series of characterizations about one of the defendants in a personal injury case that Tawil, as an attorney, made during closing remarks. He represented another defendant in the trial and was trying to shift liability away from his client.

"On the other hand, you have Mr. Batista. He's on the phone talking to his female girlfriend or someone," Tawil said, followed by a series of other claims.

"For all we know, he could be frying up some platanos in the front seat. We don't know. But he's not paying attention to the road, what's going on around him, OK," Tawil then said.

Edwards called Tawil and his client's insurance adjuster into her chambers the next day before the jury was charged to discuss settling the case. She told him she thought his comment about "frying up some platanos" was racist.

"What's going to happen now is your client is going to pay $25,000 to settle this case right now or I am going to report you to the Appellate Division, Second Department," Edwards said, according to the commission. "That's your license, counselor."

Tawil disclosed to Edwards, during the conversation, that he was a part-time town justice and would never "intentionally make a racist comment." He later testified before the commission that he felt threatened and nervous during the interaction.

He didn't end up settling the case for the amount Edwards suggested, and his client was ultimately forced to pay more as a result of the jury's verdict. 

Tawil later disclosed the conversation to the state Commission on Judicial Conduct as a way of reporting the ultimatum she made in her chambers. That led to a probe into Edwards, which ended with her admonishment.

It also backfired on Tawil. While disclosing their conversation, he had also told the commission about his remarks about Batista that prompted her reaction. Edwards hadn't reported Tawil for the comment. The panel discovered it because he reported her.

"Upon reviewing respondent's complaint against Judge Edwards, the commission authorized investigation of respondent's own conduct in the matter," the commission wrote in its determination Monday.

Tawil was also accused, by the commission, of invoking his position as a judge when he confronted the owner of a smoke shop in Ossining. The shop displayed paraphernalia used for smoking in its windows, like glass pipes and hookahs. 

When Tawil saw the paraphernalia in the shop's window, he entered the store to confront its manager about the display. 

"What is this bullshit?" Tawil said to an employee, according to the commission.

Tawil told the employee to "take this shit down" and said stores in Ossining shouldn't sell items that can be used for illegal drugs. The items sold at the shop were legal, but could be used to smoke either tobacco or illegal drugs. 

When the employee insisted their products were legal to sell, Tawil pushed back, according to the commission.

"Bullshit, I have never seen anyone smoke tobacco from a crack pipe," Tawil said.

He also told employees at the store that he was a judge at some point during the interaction. A police officer eventually showed up and explained that the items Tawil was protesting were legal. The officer referred to him as a judge. 

Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said in a statement Monday that Tawil accepted responsibility for misbehaving in both instances and apologized for his behavior.

"On or off the bench, a judge's conduct must embody the integrity and dignity of the judiciary," Tembeckjian said. "A profane rant, a demeaning ethnic remark and gratuitous reminders to people that you are a judge, undermine respect for the bench."

Tawil could not immediately be reached for comment on the determination Monday. He was represented before the commission by Deborah Scalise from Scalise & Hamilton in Scarsdale. Scalise declined to comment Monday.

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