New York’s chief judge is finding himself in hot water. It’s after some comments he made last month at a town hall at CUNY Law School.
“I am responsible for a whole branch of government and I don’t like stupidity,” said state Court of Appeals Chief Judge Rowan Wilson.
The event was in partnership with the Center for Community Alternatives.
It was for a discussion on the Second Look Act, which advocates said is transformative legislation that would allow judges to review and reconsider sentences.
“Judges here are elected or in some cases they’re appointed by elected officials, and one thing that all of you can do is find out who those people are and their organizations that who are now starting to do that, they’re starting to publicize that,” said Judge Wilson. “And when those judges come up to be elected, don’t vote for them and get other people not to vote for them.”
The judge’s comments were made in reference to some court transcripts he cited where he said a judge called a defendant “an animal” and said they “should be put in a cage for the rest of their life.”
“I should not know that you will never ever allow anyone to be sentenced to life in prison,” said Republican state Sen. Anthony Palumbo. “I should not know that. Just as if I should not know that I have some sort of personal bias where everyone who sells drugs because, whatever, they lost a family member, whatever it may be, I think they should all die in jail.”
On Wednesday morning, state Sen. Palumbo and Republican state Assemblyman Michael Tannousis unveiled a formal complaint with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct against Judge Wilson.
Both lawmakers are members of the Legislature’s judicial committees and their Republican committee members have all signed on.
In section six of their complaint, GOP lawmakers maintain Wilson is in violation of state regulations that mandate his extra-judicial activities not cast “reasonable doubt on the judge’s capacity to act impartially.”
“He shouldn’t have these types of opinions,” said Michael Tannousis, of Staten Island. “The judge should be having an opinion in regards to connected to [the Office of Court Administration] and making OCA run smoother. Not actual opinions on substantive legislation that will change the laws. He’s not an advocate. If he wanted to be an advocate, he should have became an advocate.”
Spectrum News 1 reached out to the Court of Appeals for comment and have yet to hear back.
Wilson has been the Court of Appeals chief judge since 2023.