NYS Commission says Ontario County judge should be disciplined after Facebook post

Posted: Mar 29, 2021 / 11:30 AM EDT / Updated: Mar 29, 2021 / 12:21 PM EDT ONTARIO COUNTY, N.Y. (WROC) — The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced on Monday that it has determined that John Peck — a justice of the Gorham Town Court in Ontario County should be admonished. The Commission found that Judge Peck should be disciplined for publishing public Facebook posts in which he appeared in a police uniform and expressed his appreciation for law enforcement officers. Judge Peck agreed to the admonition. According to the SCJC: In July 2020, Judge Peck, a retired law enforcement officer: expressed appreciation and strong support on Facebook for members of law enforcement, which he called the “noblest of professions” in connection with a “Back the Blue” eventposted a photo of himself wearing a police uniform. Judge Peck’s Facebook settings were public and his post and photos garnered hundreds of “likes” and many comments, including one that identified him as “Judge!” “A judge must be and appear impartial. Identifying himself with the police, publicly and in uniform on Facebook, undermined public confidence in Judge Peck’s impartiality, which to his credit he promptly acknowledged and remedied,” Commission Administrator…
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