A Central New York-elected Supreme Court Justice has been suspended and is facing removal due to her behavior at a high school graduation party in 2022.
The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct has ruled that Justice Erin P. Gall, who serves in the Fifth Judicial District in Oneida County, should be removed from her position following an inappropriate interaction with police and civilians at a party. As a result, Gall has been suspended with pay.
According to the commission, she made an attempt to exert her authority as a judge to sway the police force, and also exhibited prejudice towards particular races and an inclination towards law enforcement.
The ruling of the commission was made public on Monday, although it had been announced earlier on Wednesday.
If Gall does not file an appeal within 30 days, she will be removed as per the commission’s decision.
Unfortunately, Gall’s chambers were unavailable for comment when Syracuse.com | The Post Standard attempted to reach out. Additionally, her attorney was also unreachable at the time.
In 2011, Gall secured her position as a judge after running as a Republican and winning the election. Her current term, which began then, is set to expire in December of 2025. Voters from all over Central New York supported her during the election. It is worth noting that she earns a salary of $232,600.
According to a news release from the commission, Gall was involved in a highly offensive and profanity-laden public rant outside a high school graduation party on July 2, 2022.
While attending a high school graduation celebration in New Hartford, Gall found himself amidst a gathering that was spiraling out of control, as uninvited guests kept pouring in after hearing about the festivities.
A little after 11:30 in the evening, a group of four Black teenagers showed up at the party, having seen the address on social media. As soon as they arrived, physical altercations began to erupt between various individuals at the gathering.
According to the commission, the fights involved two of the teenagers and Gall’s son. However, it remains unclear what sparked the altercation.
According to the commission, when police were called to the party, Gall, who was not the host, took it upon herself to repeatedly inform the officers that she was a judge.
Upon the arrival of the police, it became evident that a large number of underage individuals were consuming alcohol. Despite this, Gall maintained that she had not been drinking and asserted that she remained sober throughout the duration of the party.
During her interaction with the police, which lasted for more than 80 minutes, she repeatedly used her position as a judge to make statements that were racially insensitive. Additionally, she showed a bias towards law enforcement that had a negative impact on civil rights. In total, she referred to her status as a judge over a dozen times.
As per the commission’s findings, the officers’ body camera footage captured Gall addressing both the police and the group of Black teenagers with the following statements:
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- Gall instructed the teens to leave as they searched for a lost car key and she tried to use her position as a judge to intimidate them by saying: “That is how Judge Gall rolls.”
- Gall called for the arrest of the teens and threatened to call the police chief.
- When officers told Gall that they did not want to appear before her on a civil rights violation if they heeded her suggestions, she told them “you know I am always on your side.”
- After the boys were searching for the lost car key, Gall said that if they came back to look she would “shoot them on the property.”
- When a deputy confronted Gall about the threat calling her “lady” and saying, “This isn’t Texas. You can’t shoot somebody for simply going on your property.” She responded by telling the deputy to call her “judge” instead of “lady.”
- The sister of one of the boys arrived to wait with them. The sister told a partygoer who was yelling at them he looked like a “cokehead.” Gall then yelled back: “We might be able to afford the coke, but we don’t do it.”
- After telling a deputy that her son would be attending business school in the fall, Gall said that the teens “don’t look like they’re that smart. They’re not going to business school, that’s for sure.”
Following the party, Gall had a conversation with law enforcement officers at the Oneida County Courthouse. During this conversation, she expressed her dissatisfaction with the way the officers had handled the situation. However, the commission ruled that this conversation indicated Gall’s failure to acknowledge the gravity of her actions on that night.
The commission received an anonymous complaint that prompted an investigation and disciplinary process.
According to the commission, Gall acknowledged that her behavior gave the impression that she was trying to receive special treatment due to her job, as well as showing favoritism towards law enforcement and exhibiting racial bias.
As a mother and a wife, Gall’s instinctual reaction was to protect her loved ones during the altercation. However, she now expresses regret for her actions. While she admits her mistakes, she believes that a censure is a more appropriate punishment than being removed from her position.
The commission ultimately concluded that the conduct of the respondent was tainted by impropriety and her decisions had caused irreversible harm to her ability to serve as a judge.
Over the past 46 years, the commission has made a total of 184 determinations of removal. While the Court of Appeals has mitigated 10 of these determinations to either a censure or an admonition, it has yet to dismiss a sanction that was originally sought as removal.