The state's Commission on Judicial Conduct has decided that embattled City Court Judge Leticia Astacio should be stripped of her judgeship — more than two years after the February 2016 morning when she was found intoxicated in her Hyundai alongside the highway.
Astacio, 36, can appeal the decision to the state's highest court, the Court of Appeals, which recently suspended her from the bench after an arrest earlier this month on allegations that she illegally tried to buy a shotgun.
Astacio pulled off a surprise victory in a three-way Democratic primary in 2014, then won the judgeship in the general election. But after her arrest and conviction for drunken driving, her fall from grace has been staggering, propelled by the violations of her post-conviction mandates, a trip to Thailand while under court-imposed monitoring, and even including two jail stints totaling more than a month of incarceration.
The alleged violations — some were found to have merit, while some weren't — were so plentiful that Astacio has been in court more often over the past two years than many persistent felons.
Records released Tuesday show that the commission based its determination on:
• Astacio's drunken driving arrest and her response to State Police, who said she was profane and verbally abusive.
• Her apparent attempts to use her office to influence the State Police in its decision to criminally charge her.
• Her drinking incidents after her conviction, even though her conditions prohibited her from imbibing alcohol. She admitted earlier to violating the conditions.
• An unannounced 2017 trip to Thailand while she was under probation supervision. She was unable to return to Rochester in time for a court-ordered test for alcohol consumption.
• Several incidents during her first year on the bench when her actions or comments breached judicial ethics, such as the favorable treatment of a defendant whom she knew and previously represented while she was a defense lawyer.
Astacio occasionally turned to Facebook with postings that, while sometimes serving as her answer to allegations against her, amplified questions about her judicial temperament. After her April arrest for the alleged attempted shotgun purchase, for instance, she claimed on Facebook that it was her sister who wanted to buy the firearm, prompting one of her sisters to have to refute that allegation with her own Facebook posting.
Meanwhile, Astacio has occasionally been a target for public mockery, pilloried on social media and radio talk shows for her erratic behavior. On Twitter the hashtag "drunkjudge" was created for 240-or-fewer-character diatribes about the latest twist in the Astacio saga.
In court, judges and prosecutors maintained that Astacio stubbornly refused to abide by terms placed upon her after her arrest and conviction.
"The defendant has never acknowledged responsibility for her behaviors," Ontario County Court Judge Stephen Aronson wrote in December when refusing to overturn her drunken driving conviction. "She has demonstrated an utter lack of respect for any and all authorities, as evidenced by her multiple violations."
Astacio was charged in February 2016 with misdemeanor driving while intoxicated. A state trooper testified he found Astacio's SUV on the side of Interstate 490 near Mt. Read Boulevard with extensive front-end damage and both driver's side tires flat.
She was en route to court, where she was assigned a Saturday morning shift.
In August 2016, Astacio was found guilty of driving while intoxicated after a trial before a judge.
“Nobody – including a judge – is above the law,” Commission Chairman Joseph Belluck said in a statement.
“This unanimous decision from the Commission sends a strong message that driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious offense, and that the penalties for judges who drink and drive will be severe. It also sends a strong message that the Commission views the improper assertion of a judicial office for private gain as a strong aggravating factor and that we expect judges involved in the legal system to behave in a manner consistent with court orders.
“The members of the Commission understand the public’s concern that Judge Astacio was allowed to remain as a judge while her case was litigated. However, it is important that judges who come before the Commission receive a fair and full opportunity to be heard, and that takes time. The Commission also believes and has long advocated that the power to suspend a judge while under investigation, which is very limited, should be broadened. The Commission again urges the Legislature to do so.”
