Statement by Dean G. Yuzek, Attorney for Hon. Marian R. Shelton, on Vote of No Confidence for...

NEW YORK -- Dean G. Yuzek, attorney for Judge Marian R. Shelton, issued the following statement today in reaction to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct's press release on the vote of no confidence in Raoul Felder by his fellow Commission members:

"Judge Shelton applauds the vote of no confidence taken by the members of the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct regarding its Chairman, Raoul Felder, in response to her letter to them of April 12, 2007. In addition to addressing its Staff's pursuit of a demonstrably baseless investigation, Judge Shelton's letter questioned how the Commission's members could be comfortable with its present leadership. The closing section of her letter, received by the Commission and separately by each of its members on the morning of April 13, pointed out:

  For a group charged with assuring the public of the integrity of the
  Judiciary, the Commission's reputation is questionable. This
  reflects not only the recently described failures to police the
  State's local courts, but having had three Chairmen in the space of
  twelve months, the first of whom, together with Richard Emery, Esq.,
  a present Commissioner, was criticized in a New York Times
  editorial; a second whose resignation after one month in office has
  never been fully explained to the public; and Raoul Felder, a
  well-known divorce lawyer, but a curious choice as your current
  Chairman. Indeed, as he put it himself, "a lot of people we[re]
  stunned" by his appointment.

  Can you be unaware that over the years, Mr. Felder, who has been
  styled in the press "chief judge of judicial conduct," has used as
  the butt of jokes ethnic and other groups some of whose members,
  like many New Yorkers, require access to the city's courts...

  Have you protested to Mr. Felder about this targeted "humor?"
  Perhaps the "bare knuckle" advice of the Chairman of your Commission
  on Judicial Conduct to lawyers who are losing cases - "make the
  judge angry. [P]rovoked judges may make intemperate remarks in
  anger...[which]might create...reversible error" may provoke you to
  action.

  Your chairman, sworn to impartiality, has, at my request, recused
  himself from this matter. Are you aware that his latest co-authored
  book - published last week --"Schmucks" (hardly a title in keeping
  with the dignity you seek to uphold among judges) contains this gem
  of impartiality: " [L]et's face it, anytime you hear the word
  'allegedly' you can bet it's true."

"Although Chairman Felder's "Schmucks" book has been out since March 27, similar material from Mr. Felder ("crude, biased, vulgar and otherwise demeaning" in the Commission's phrasing) appears as well in his earlier books, about which the Commissioners knew or should have known. That the Commission acted as it did only under Judge Shelton's prodding (and has not acknowledged that her letter caused it to address the issue) is hypocritical. Indeed, the vote of no confidence begs the question of where Mr. Felder's fellow Commissioners were before last Friday.

"A small caveat is in order: although as a first step towards Mr. Felder's possible removal the other members' vote is important, it should be a matter of concern that Mr. Felder was hardly provided with due process by his Commission colleagues. Within four hours of receipt of Judge Shelton's letter- and the knowledge that it was in the hands of the press - he had been tried and his fate sealed. One would have thought that a panel which counts among its members eminent civil liberties champions would have given him a meaningful opportunity to defend himself. However, because of her belief that Mr. Felder leads a group that thinks it is appropriate to trample on a judge's due process rights and is willing to impose "career capital punishment" using the lowest evidentiary standard, Judge Shelton's sympathy is muted."

A complete copy of Judge Marian Shelton's letter to the NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct will be made available upon request.