A week ago today, disgraced Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio had to appear before a hearing of the state Judicial Conduct Commission in Syracuse.
The hearing was part of a process that will present information to the commission to help its members decide whether to remove her from office, impose some lesser sanction on her, or remain silent on her case.
Arrested more than a year ago for drunk driving, she has had repeated probation violations, spent part of two months in jail, been banned from private areas of the courthouse, and failed for a month and a half to report to alternate duties assigned her by her superiors.
She was supposed to appear before the judge handling her DWI case yesterday, but that proceeding was postponed until Monday. The delay was likely driven by the fact officials have brought another charge of probation violation against her.
That stems from the commission hearing in Syracuse.
The rules of her probation prohibit her from leaving Monroe County without the approval of her probation officer. Before last Friday’s hearing, she sought that permission. She was told by the probation officer that to go she would need to fill out an itinerary of her trip, explaining where she would be when and why, and – if that itinerary was approved – she would need to travel with a pass issued her by her probation officer.
But that never happened.
Leticia Astacio never responded to the probation officer’s instructions. She did not provide an itinerary, and she did not secure a pass. She just went.
But wait, there’s more.
The court-ordered interlock device on her car showed that on the way back from the hearing in Syracuse she stopped at Del Lago casino, where she stayed for about an hour and a half.
It was an unauthorized trip, taken without a required pass, and she stopped at the casino – a place it is not likely her probation officer would have approved
The paperwork outlining all this will be available in City Court this morning.
On Monday, she will be back in court, the judge handling the case will be aware of this information, and it is possible he may decide to jail her.
And the case of #drunkjudge will take one more maddening turn.
Ironically, Leticia Astacio’s most recent probation violation came the day after her lawyer appeared on my radio show and said she was humble and contrite, and wanted earnestly to work with the Judicial Conduct Commission and her supervising judges to resolve her problems and return to her duties. He said she wanted to be a good example and to serve honorably.
He also said she would resume the duties assigned her.
None of those assurances were lived up to.
At the same time Leticia Astacio and her supporters were claiming that she was being targeted because she is an African-American woman of Hispanic heritage, she was engaging in behavior sure to bring her more legal difficulties. On the day she had the chance to appear before the staff of the Judicial Conduct Commission and make the case for why she should return to the bench, she chose to ignore specific instructions from her probation officer, and go to a facility she had been warned away from.
Her lawyer may be a nice guy, but he’s got a humdinger of a client. And there is nothing humble or contrite about her. She may give a nice TV interview when it serves her interest, but it seems that when she does so she is lying through her teeth.
So where does she stand?
First off, she’s getting a raise. This week it was decided that New York judges will get a raise on January 1 – even the bad ones.
Second off, her legal problems are mounting. As I mentioned, this new probation violation may put her back behind bars.
There is also the issue of her failure to report for the non-judicial duties assigned her by the supervising judges. She stopped reporting to work at the beginning of September, and has turned in every two weeks short notes from a doctor saying that the work conditions are bad for her health. It stands to reason that the supervising judges are going to want a more trustworthy medical opinion, and it is likely she will be asked to submit to examination by a doctor chosen by the court.
Finally, there is the matter of the Judicial Conduct Commission. It is possible the commissioners will decide at their November meeting whether or not to sanction Leticia Astacio. It is the hope of many that she will be removed from office. If she does face a punishment, she will have the right to have it reviewed by the State Court of Appeals, where she can argue to have it overturned.
Going through that process could take matters into next spring.
While she continues to collect a $174,000-a-year paycheck.
And the community continues to seethe at a judge who has mocked the system at every turn.
Leticia Astacio has proven herself unworthy of office. Now we have to wait and see if the Judicial Conduct Commission has the brains and the guts to do anything about it.