NY judge resigns after saying all defendants are guilty to avoid jury duty

An upstate New York justice has resigned aft saying helium could not service connected a assemblage due to the fact that helium believes each defendants are guilty.

Richard T. Snyder, who served a justness of the Petersburgh Town Court for astir a decade, stepped down aft being charged with misconduct by a authorities judicial commission, officials announced Tuesday.

According to tribunal transcripts, Snyder attempted to get retired of serving connected a assemblage successful October 2023 by archetypal identifying himself arsenic a justice and past saying, “I cognize everybody travel successful beforehand of maine … are guilty. They would not beryllium successful beforehand of maine [otherwise].”

He continued to reason that helium could not beryllium impartial earlier helium was dismissed from the peculiar expansive assemblage empanelment successful Rensselaer County. The justice assigned to the lawsuit past reported Snyder’s behaviour to the New York State Commission connected Judicial Conduct.

In a July 2024 morals proceeding astir his behavior, Snyder doubled down.

“I meant that they were blameworthy due to the fact that they did thing wrong. But they’re not blameworthy ‘til they travel to court. They’re guiltless ’til proven guilty,” helium told the commission. “They did thing wrong. That’s wherefore they got a ticket. But they’re not guilty.”

Snyder, who’s not an attorney, yet agreed to ne'er service arsenic a justice again.

“There is nary spot connected the seat for idiosyncratic who truthful profoundly misunderstands the relation of a justice and the medication of justice,” said Robert H. Tembeckjian, head of the judicial commission.

“It is atrocious capable that a justice would question to debar specified a cardinal civic work arsenic assemblage service. It is astounding that the justice would assertion an inability to beryllium impartial, and to state nether oath that the accused indispensable beryllium blameworthy oregon they would not beryllium successful court,” Tembeckjian added.

Petersburgh is simply a tiny municipality adjacent Albany, adjacent the state’s borders with Vermont and Massachusetts.

With News Wire Services