Hand and judicial robe photo illustration. (Photo: Jason Doiy and S. Todd Rogers/ALM) Hand and judicial robe photo illustration. (Photo: Jason Doiy and S. Todd Rogers/ALM)

A full-time city court judge in Mount Vernon received a rebuke Friday from the state's disciplinary body for jurists after he was found to have acted as his daughter's attorney during multiple family court appearances in Albany.

City Court Judge William Edwards, an attorney, agreed to be censured Friday by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Edwards not only represented his daughter in family court, he also invoked his position as a judge on more than one occasion to demonstrate his knowledge of the law, according to the commission. His comments were most extensive during an appearance in 2015.

"I'm very active, the City Court judge in Mount Vernon, we have a large number of cases, murders, everything else," Edwards said during that appearance, according to the commission. "I've been in Family Court for five years. I appreciate the experience that you go through as a Family Court judge but this is nonsensical."

Edwards was at the time seeking to have a petition dismissed against his daughter, who isn't named. The judge ended up dismissing the petition, with prejudice.

Four months later, Edwards appeared in Albany County Family Court again on behalf of his daughter who, this time, was petitioning for an order of protection against an unnamed individual. That individual wasn't in court.

Edwards appeared to suggest, at the time, that he was aware he couldn't practice law while serving as a full-time judge. But he also said there was an exception for family members. There isn't, according to the commission.

"Now I'm her father as well as an attorney but I'm actually a judge," Edwards said. "I can't practice law except in my own family cases."

He went on to tell the judge in the proceeding that he knew, based on his experience on the bench, that without legal protection, his daughter would likely be repeatedly approached by the individual against which she was seeking an order.

His daughter was granted an order of protection and the case was adjourned for a month. At a third appearance, Edwards, again, acted as his daughter's attorney. Nothing came of that appearance.

A month later, Edwards was told by Judge Sam Walker, the supervising judge for the city courts of the Ninth Judicial District, that he wasn't allowed to practice law at all while also serving as a full-time judge, per the rules of judicial conduct.

Edwards then hired an attorney for his daughter, who was able to resolve her matter shortly after.

Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said that Edwards, to his credit, admitted wrongdoing when the panel began its probe into his conduct. The commission decided he deserves another chance, Tembeckjian said.

"It is bad enough for a full-time judge to practice law, even on behalf of a family member," Tembeckjian said. "Repeatedly mentioning one's own judicial status during the proceedings compounds the original misconduct and comes across as an obvious attempt to influence the trial judge."

"Here, Judge Edwards has admitted wrongdoing, and the Commission believes he deserves another chance," he continued.

One member of the commission wasn't quite as forgiving. Marvin Ray Raskin, who was appointed to the panel by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, D-Bronx, wrote in a separate opinion that he would have kicked Edwards off the bench.

"I find unavailing respondent's assertion that he was unaware his representation contravened established prohibitions," Raskin said. "Respondent's conduct was neither inadvertent nor miscalculated. Rather, it was purposeful and strategic."

Edwards was represented before the Commission on Judicial Conduct by Amy Bellantoni from Bellantoni Law in Scarsdale. Bellantoni declined to comment Friday.

Edwards has been on the bench in Mount Vernon since 2003. His current term is scheduled to end in 2023.

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