A Schuyler County judge is stepping down next week for participating at the Trump rally in Washington D.C. on Jan. 6, 2021.
Donald Spaccio, a justice of both the Montour Falls Village Court and Montour Town Court, was under investigation with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct since last spring, according to a press release.
The investigation included looking into complaints about Spaccio’s behavior regarding his attendance to the Trump rally in the Nation’s Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, as well as using his position and title in local jurisdictions to get out of removing a propane cannon from the roof of his office building, and yelling profanities at local officials during a dispute.
The commission stated that judges may not engage in political activity while serving in their professional capacity. The commission also said that Spaccio testified he did not participate in the assault on the U.S. Capitol building that day.
Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said in a statement that judges can engage in some constrained political activity for a limited time when running for office. However, whether or not a judge is a candidate, Tembeckjian said attending the rally in Washington on Jan. 6 was "impermissible.”
Spaccio is not an attorney. He has been an elected judge of Montour Falls Village Court since 2001 and Montour Town Court since 2005. Spaccio’s current terms would have expired in 2026 and 2025, respectively.
In New York, villages and towns can appoint or elect judges. The judges can be non-lawyers or “lay justices” who are not trained in law. Regardless of their educational background, these judges are given authority over cases within their jurisdiction, such as traffic tickets, landlord-tenant disputes or issuing orders of protection.
According to the commision, there are nearly 2,000 village and town court judges. More than half of them are lay justices who do not have a law degree.
Spaccio submitted his resignation to the commission on Sept. 9. In his resignation, he agreed to never seek or accept judicial office at any time in the future.
The mayor of the village of Montour Falls said in an email to WSKG that the board accepted Spaccio’s resignation at its Sept. 27 meeting. Spaccio’s resignation with the village is effective Monday, Oct. 7.