By: Ellen Cans
On Monday, Janet DiFiore, the chief judge of New York State’s Court of Appeals, announced that she will be stepping down at the end of August, after over six years in the position.
DiFiore, who presides over the state’s highest court, had been appointed in 2016 by former governor Andrew Cuomo. As reported by the NY Post, a new report has revealed that the judge has been facing a state ethics probe, which is what led her to resign. The probe, being conducted by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, is investigating whether DiFiore stepped out of line interfering in the disciplinarily hearing of the state’s court officers association president, as first reported by Law 360.
Dennis Quirk had been president of the New York Court Officers Association, a 1,400-member union, for some 47 years. Then in 2020, DiFiore had ordered an “independent review of the New York state court system’s response to issues of institutional racism”, following a complaint about Quirk’s alleged behavior toward black court officers. In response to the probe, Quirk had emailed DiFiore and said he’d respond to the “false rumors,” according to documents from the court. “Lets [sic] see [how] you like the online articles about your relationship with a police officer with ties to organized crime while you were married posted all over every Court Building in NYS,” he had said, allegedly threatening her, as per court documents.
Quirk faced a disciplinary hearing. Last August, DiFiore allegedly weighed into that hearing, writing a letter to the hearing officer in Quirk’s case, Phyllis Orlikoff Flug, requesting that Quirk be punished, arguing that he “exhibits no remorse,” Law 360 reported. “These patent realities require that you use every means at your disposal to address this incident and deter future misconduct by respondent,” she wrote. The spat continued with Quirk posting DiFiore’s personal address on social media.
This was a breach of privacy, and put DiFiore at “grave risk of death” by posting her Westchester and Hamptons area addresses on Facebook, said the Office of Court Administration spokesman Lucien Chalfen. Quirk was suspended for 30 days without pay. However, a probe was opened on DiFiore, for interfering in Quirk’s disciplinarily hearing.
As per Law 360, Flug said she had immediately forwarded DiFiore’s letter to the Commission on Judicial Conduct, and soon was told by the commission’s chief counsel that it would be investigated. A judge may not use their title to influence a proceeding for personal interest according to Judicial ethics.
Quirk, 72, commented on the investigation into DiFiore, saying “she should know better as a judge.” State court spokesperson Lucian Chalfen told Law 360 that DiFiore’s resignation is not linked to the investigation.
As a result of DiFiore’s resignation, Gov. Kathy Hochul will need to appoint a new chief judge, which speculators fear may shift the Court of Appeals to the left politically, the Post reported.
