A town and village justice in Wayne County has resigned while under investigation by New York's State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Judge Scott Stone of the Wolcott and Butler Courts was being investigated for comments made at a village board meeting; statements the commission said indicated "disdain for certain laws and aspects of the legal process." The commission also says Stone showed a presumtion of guilt on the part of defendants who came before him and personal annoyance with defense attorneys.
Among comments attributed to Judge Stone at that public meeting: "If I had my way, you'd see them probably swinging outside the door"... "Thanks to lawyers, everybody has rights..." and "the whole system quite frankly sucks."
Judge Stone, who is not an attorney, had been a justice of the Butler Town Court since 2006.