Upstate NY Judge Appeared Biased Against Defendant, SCJC Says
The state disciplinary commission reported the determination Wednesday against Wayne Pebler, a justice for the Roxbury Town Court in Delaware County.
July 01, 2020 at 02:34 PM
3 minute read
The state's Commission on Judicial Conduct says an upstate New York judge should be censured for appearing biased against a defendant and making public comments about charges against him.
The state disciplinary commission reported the determination Wednesday against Wayne Pebler, a justice for the Roxbury Town Court in Delaware County.
Pebler, who agreed to the censure, is not an attorney and has served on the bench in the town court since 2002, the commission said.
The commission released a determination outlining Pebler's comments about the defendant, whom he knew from other criminal cases. The judge also worked at middle school in the 1990s where the defendant was a student.
In 2018, the court's audio recording system captured Pebler telling a man in the courtroom that the defendant was a "convict," according to the commission. The judge went on to describe what led to the charges against the defendant, the commission reports. The prosecutor and defense counsel were not present during the comments.
That same day, the judge complained the defendant "had children whom he could not afford to support," according to the determination.
Later that year at the Roxbury Town Court, Pebler made comments that implied he believed the defendant used drugs and was a drug dealer, even though the man had no drug-related charges pending at the town court at the time, according to the commission.
Pebler talked about a plea agreement tied to a pending case in another town court, according to the commission, and a recording system caught the judge saying the defendant was "dealing drugs and they don't seem to care."
"[Pebler] now recognizes that it was improper for him to speak with members of the public about the merits of pending cases and pledges to refrain from such conduct in the future," the commission said in its determination, noting the judge was cooperative with them.
The commission privately cautioned the judge in 2009 after they found he participated in ex parte communications. The judge's current term expires at the end of 2021, but the commission says he does not plan on seeking reelection.
"The courts must be and appear fair and impartial," said Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian in a statement. "For a judge to disparage a defendant in public conversation, prior to the adjudication of the case, undermines public confidence in the administration of justice."
An attorney for Pebler could not be reached Wednesday.
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