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| NEWS > 18 July 2007 |
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Results of police conduct inqu
The Commission of Inquiry into Police Conduct, which was launched after allegations of police rape came to light three years ago, is expected to be submitted to the Governor-General by the end of this month.
The inquiry was established in 2004 after Rotorua woman Louise Nicholas claimed she was raped by three police officers in the mid 1980s and that her complaint was not properly investigated.
The commission was tasked with investigating the way in which police dealt with allegations of sexual assault by members of the police and associates of the police.
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New York Law Journal - New Yor
18 July 2007
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Charges of Judicial Misconduct
ALBANY - Former Supreme Court Justice Lawrence I. Horowitz used his status as a judge to seek preferential police treatment for his girlfriend and to have authorities investigate the woman's estranged husband, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct said yesterday.
The commission announced that Mr. Horowitz, who resigned on June 20, has signed a stipulation acknowledging that he could not defend himself against the disciplinary charges. He also agreed not to serve again as a judge or judicial hearing officer.
Mr. Horowitz, 56, was a Westchester County Supreme Court justice who has been assigned to Orange County for the past two years.
In a formal complaint also released yesterday, the commission charged Mr. Horowitz with two counts of judicial misconduct, and it dated his wrongdoing to Jan. 1, 2004, when he joined the Supreme Court bench.
The commission contended that from the beginning of his tenure, Mr. Horowitz used Supreme Court stationery to write letters concerning personal or family business matters. The correspondence included letters to the schools his children attended to comment on school policies, to his house of worship to discuss his membership dues and to Verizon, contesting an unpaid bill of $14,707 for a phone number associated with his former law practice, according to the commission.
Mr. Horowitz also violated judicial canons beginning on Feb. 3, 2005, when his girlfriend, Michelle Nolan, was stopped for speeding in Yorktown, Westchester County, the commission charged. A police computer check indicated Ms. Nolan's estranged husband, Christopher Angiello, had reported the vehicle stolen. Mr. Horowitz called the officer investigating Ms. Nolan's case and identified himself as her friend and assuring him Ms. Nolan would respond to any traffic summonses, the commission charged.
Several summonses were issued against Ms. Nolan, though the officer's supervisor had recommended she be charged with a crime and that bail be set, the commission noted.
Mr. Horowitz then accompanied Ms. Nolan to the Yorktown police station to file a complaint against Mr. Angiello for having made a false report about the car. At that time, he identified himself as a judge and demanded that police investigate Mr. Angiello and his brother, Yorktown Police Officer Dominic Angiello, for allegedly working together to improperly report the vehicle as stolen.
On Feb. 7, 2005, the commission said Mr. Horowitz called Mount Pleasant Police Chief Louis Alagno, Westchester County Assistant District Attorney Vincent O'Connell and Chief Assistant District Attorney Richard Weill, identified himself as a judge and urged them to investigate Ms. Nolan's complaint.
The commission charged Mr. Horowitz with violating the Rules of the Chief Administrator of the Courts Governing Judicial Conduct §100.1, for failing to maintain high standards of conduct; §100.2(A), for failing to act in a way that upholds public confidence in the judiciary; and §100.2(C), for lending the prestige of judicial office to advance the private interest of another.
In his answer to the complaint, Mr. Horowitz wrote that whenever he used the official court letterhead for personal correspondence, he typed "Personal and Unofficial" in the upper righthand corner and believed that was sufficient to indicate he was not writing in his official capacity as a judge.
He acknowledged making the calls to the police chief and prosecutors on Ms. Nolan's behalf, but denied that he identified himself as a judge or that he "persisted" in pressing for investigations of Mr. Angiello and his brother.
In the stipulation with the commission, Mr. Horowitz acknowledged his inability to defend himself against the charges in the complaint and that he has resigned from the court. While the commission has 120 days under Judiciary Law §47 to complete an investigation against judges if they resign, commission administrators and Mr. Horowitz agreed that all matters in his case should be closed.
The stipulation made reference to the commission's notification to Mr. Horowitz that it was also investigating "additional allegations" against him unrelated to the 2006 complaint, but the nature of the other allegations was not revealed.
Response to Charges
In his verified answer, Mr. Horowitz noted that his misconduct came in his first 18 months as a "relatively new" judge. He also made reference to a series of personal setbacks dating from his 2003 campaign for Supreme Court, when his wife, Alexis Furer, began a bitterly contested divorce proceeding against him.
Mr. Horowitz also said his mother was suffering from Alzheimer's disease, his finances were strained by joining the judiciary and fighting his divorce, he required hospitalization with abdominal problems and his son was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. He denied that his personal issues had interfered with his work on the bench throughout the period.
"The actions which formed the basis for the Judicial Conduct Commission's proceedings were an anomaly, were not undertaken for personal or financial gain and were unrelated to matters he presided over," said Mr. Horowitz's attorney, Deborah A. Scalise of Jones Garneau in Scarsdale. "Unfortunately, he had more than his share of personal issues and ultimately decided to resign from the bench."
Mr. Horowitz "looks forward to putting this episode behind him" and returning to private practice, Ms. Scalise said.
In 2001, Mr. Horowitz ran as the Republican challenger to Democratic Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano. Mr. Spano won easily.
Mr. Horowitz is the 18th judge to enter into a stipulated resignation or retirement since the Commission on Judicial Conduct introduced that method of disposing of cases four years ago. Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said yesterday it allows the commission to more quickly remove judges whose cases are likely bound for formal removal judgments, and judges are able to save the resources they would spend if the adjudication process were completed.
In cases like Mr. Horowitz's, where the former judge is seeking to return to private practice, the commission routinely forwards its decisions and supporting documents to attorney screening panels for possible review of whether ex-judges violated legal canons, Mr. Tembeckjian said. In Mr. Horowitz's case, that would be to the Attorney Grievance Committee of the Appellate Division, Second Department.
Ms. Scalise said her client is not aware of any grievance proceedings against him.
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