NY Appeals Court Upholds Removing Bullying Judge from Spring Valley, Ramapo

ROCKLAND COUNTY, NY — The New York State Court of Appeals has accepted a determination by the Commission on Judicial Conduct that Alan M. Simon, a Justice of the Spring Valley Village Court and the Ramapo Town Court, should be removed from office.

The court reviewed the commission's decision at Judge Simon's request. He conceded his misconduct but challenged the commission's recommendation and argued that instead he should be censured and restored to his judicial offices.

In a decision dated Oct. 20, 2016, the Court of Appeals stated among other things that “[Judge Simon] used his office and standing as a platform from which to bully and intimidate,” that he “engaged in ethnic smearing and name-calling and repeatedly displayed poor temperament -- perhaps most significantly, by engaging in a physical altercation with a student worker.”

The court found that Judge Simon’s “actions reflect a pattern of calculated misconduct that militates against [his] assertion that the misbehavior complained of will not be repeated if he is allowed to remain on the bench.”

The case was argued in the Court of Appeals by Deputy Administrator Edward Lindner for the Commission. The judge was represented by Lawrence A. Mandelker.

“It is never a pleasant duty to remove a judge from office, but sometimes it is necessary, to protect the public and the integrity of the court system," Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian said in a prepared statement. "The Commission respects and appreciates the Court of Appeals decision today, upholding the removal of a judge for egregious misconduct.”

From telling a co-judge to have a stroke and die, to throwing a fit over one of the mayor's hires in "a shocking display of physical aggression," and engaging in impermissible political activity, the Commission had enumerated a number of incidents that its members considered in making their decision.

The Commission found, between 2009 and 2014:

• Judge Simon “abused his judicial position in order to bully, harass, threaten and intimidate his court staff, his co-judge and other village officials and employees with whom he dealt in an official capacity.”
• Judge Simon unlawfully and “repeatedly threatened such individuals with contempt or arrest over routine personnel or administrative issues in his court.”
• Judge Simon frequently “subjected them to demeaning treatment, insults and angry diatribes in response to perceived disrespect or shortcomings in the performance of their duties and, in one instance, exhibited a shocking display of physical aggression in the court clerk’s office.”
• In what “escalated into a melee,” Judge Simon, who was upset that a student had been hired by the mayor in 2012 without his input or approval, attempted to physically remove the student, after threatening to hold him in contempt or have him arrested for trespassing. Judge Simon told the police that he would hold them in contempt if they did not assist him in removing the student. When his co-judge attempted to intervene, Judge Simon told him to “have a stroke and die.” When the police tried to calm the situation and suggested that he raise the issue with the mayor, Judge Simon responded by “referring to the mayor in profane, vulgar terms and added that he was contemplating holding her in contempt.”
• Judge Simon threatened the chief court clerk with contempt unless she complied with his order regarding the assignment of court officers.
• Judge Simon’s “rude and discourteous manner extended to attorneys when he was acting in an adjudicative capacity.” He mistreated two attorneys from a legal services agency who had assisted an indigent tenant who had been illegally locked out of his apartment and imposed a sanction of $2,500 against the agency despite the fact that as a town or village justice he lacked the authority to do so.
The Commission also found that in 2013, Judge Simon impermissibly engaged in political activity by providing damaging information about his former co-judge, who was a candidate for county executive. Finally, the Commission found that Judge Simon’s misconduct was compounded by his false testimony at the hearing and his “continued insistence at the hearing that his actions were appropriate under the circumstances and consistent with the required standards of judicial behavior.”

Judge Simon has served as a Justice of the Spring Valley Village Court since 2005 and as a Justice of the Ramapo Town Court since 2011. His current term in the Spring Valley Village Court would have expired in 2017 and his term in the Ramapo Town Court would have expired in 2019.

DOCUMENTS IN THE CASE:

The Court’s decision and the Commission's determination are available at the Commission's website.

SEE ALSO: Bullying Judge Should Be Ousted, NY Commission Says