"While presiding over a landlord-tenant dispute in 2022, Johnson called the tenant to direct her to pay her landlord quickly to avoid eviction, which upset the landlord's attorney, who told the judge, it was improper for the court to call a litigant to give legal advice. At that point, Johnson apologized and said she just wanted to be sure the tenant understood what to do."
"Twice, Johnson's actions resulted in a ticket being dismissed or a judgement vacated: The commission's complaint says she passed notes to a court clerk instructing that a neighbor's traffic ticket be dismissed, and, on a case where she knew the attorneys for both parties, acted in ways that resulted in a $750 default judgement against a contracting corporation being vacated."
Between 2022 and 2024, Mount Vernon City Court Judge Nichelle Johnson provided legal advice to litigants, assisted a neighbor in dismissing a traffic ticket, and yelled at prosecutors from the bench. Johnson called a tenant during a landlord-tenant dispute to instruct payment to avoid eviction and apologized after an attorney objected to giving legal advice. She unknowingly explained how to retrieve an impounded car while speaking on speakerphone and did not report the contact. She passed notes directing a clerk to dismiss a neighbor’s ticket and took steps that led to vacating a $750 default judgment when she knew both parties' attorneys. The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct filed a complaint and plans to censure her.
#judicial-misconduct #legal-ethics #mount-vernon-city-court #new-york-commission-on-judicial-conduct
Read at www.amny.com
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