Town justice should be removed for 'remarkable array of misconduct,' commission administrator says
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A town justice in Guilford, New York, should be removed from the bench for making sexual comments to attorneys, displaying inappropriate bumper stickers, placing his handgun on the bench, failing to attend to his duties, and ignoring traffic tickets, according to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The judge, Judge Jeremy L. Persons, “committed a remarkable array of misconduct, warranting his removal from the bench,” said Robert H. Tembeckjian, the commission administrator, in an April 10 press release.
Persons, who is not a lawyer, didn’t respond to the commission’s complaint. According to the commission, Persons:
• Told an assistant public defender during an in-chambers conference that he would like to watch her golf after she mentioned attending a sheriff’s office golf tournament. The assistant public defender responded that she was not good at golf. “That’s not why I want to watch you,” Persons said.
• Told the assistant public defender and assistant district attorney in court that he had a “three-way relationship with his ex-wife and another woman, but the two women cut him out of the relationship.” He used graphic rhyming terms to describe his ex-wife’s sexual tastes.
• Displayed a graphic of “Judge Dredd” on his car. The fictional character is known in popular culture as “judge, jury and executioner.” He also displayed a bumper sticker on his car that said, “Boobies Make Me Smile.” Persons usually parked near a nonpublic entrance where his car could be seen by police officers and defendants.
• Was late in filing required monthly reports, which led to his salary being stopped.
• Ignored traffic tickets for driving an uninspected vehicle without adequate lights, resulting in two suspensions of his license. He received another license suspension for lapsed insurance. He gave a court clerk his New York court system email address when communicating about the tickets.
• Did not cooperate in an audit of his court records, which led to an order that all his cases be assigned to another judge.
• Carried his gun in a hip holster that was visible when he wasn’t wearing his judicial robe. His permit required the gun to be concealed. He wore the gun in and just outside the courthouse. At one point, he placed his gun on the bench.
Persons’ sexual comments to attorneys and the “Boobies Make Me Smile” bumper sticker “were demeaning, undignified and improper,” the commission said. He “engaged in a pattern of failing to respect and comply with the law” and violated the terms of his gun permit. And he failed to “diligently discharge his administrative duties.”
The underlying misconduct was exacerbated by his failure to cooperate with the commission’s investigation and proceedings, the commission concluded.
Persons has was a town court justice since 2020.
Persons can accept the commission’s determination or seek review by the New York State Court of Appeals within 30 days. The commission issued its determination Feb. 23, but it didn’t become public until after Persons received in April 6.
