A longtime nonattorney judge in upstate New York has tendered his resignation, with more than three years remaining on his term, amid a wide-ranging probe into his fitness to continue on duty, according to an announcement Tuesday from the state’s judicial watchdog.

In May, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct notified New Lebanon Town Justice John J. Nevers of Columbia County that it had launched an investigation concerning his inappropriate dismissal of a traffic ticket, the failure to disqualify from a case despite a longstanding friendship with the defendant, and unpreparedness and unnecessary delay in handling an eviction matter.