Upstate judge, a retired sheriff's deputy, scolded for Facebook posts in support of law enforcement

Gorham, NY — An Ontario County town justice, who retired from that county’s sheriff’s office, is being publicly scolded for two instances in which he publicly supported law enforcement.John Peck, of the Gorham Town Court, was taken to task by the state’s judicial conduct commission for two actions: a Facebook post about his attendance at a “Back the Blue” rally last summer and a picture on Facebook in which he posed in his old sheriff’s office uniform at his daughter’s police academy graduation.It’s the second time the commission has found fault with Peck: he was privately warned in April 2019 regarding another Facebook post he made critical of a candidate for sheriff at the time.Peck should be admonished for his latest displays in support of law enforcement, the commission ruled. That’s equivalent to a public scolding, but does not remove Peck from office. The judge has since been contrite and regrets his actions, the commission noted.“Respondent now recognizes that individuals viewing his Facebook posts, and seeing him in a law enforcement uniform, would reasonably question his ability to conduct himself in a fair and impartial manner while presiding over cases involving law enforcement,” the commission wrote in a ruling earlier…
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