| ► Judge William Carter of Albany; aspiring pugilist, Judge Roy Bean Wannabee? |
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Judge William Carter of Albany; aspiring pugilist, Judge Roy Bean Wannabee
 Unfortunately, Judge Carter has been sitting on the bench on the Albany City Court since January 1, 2002. 
In 2005 the Judicial Commission charged Judge William Carter with engaging in egregious misconduct. The misconduct involved a defendant who was charged with 3rd degree assault in November 2004 and was being held in jail in lieu of a $5,000 bond.
In mid-Nov 2004, the defendant wrote to the court and expressed his concerns about the document used to charge him with assault and about the representation being provided to him by the public defender. This then led Judge Carter to schedule a hearing for Nov. 22, 2004.
At that hearing, Judge Carter questioned the defendant concerning his contention that the charging document was deficient. After the defendant became agitated and said he no longer wanted to participate in the proceeding because he claimed it was illegal, Judge Carter acted as follows:
At least one witness present in the courtroom heard Judge Carter say of or to the defendant, “You want a piece of me?” Carter didn’t deny making this statement. Police office Mark Leonardo who was in the courtroom at the time, testified that he placed himself in front of Judge Carter to block his path to the defendant.
Thump the Shit out of him – so sayeth Judge Roy Bean
Four months later (ca. March 2005) while he knew he was under investigation by the Judicial Commission for the threatening-pugilistic conduct aforementioned, Judge William Carter acted as follows:
At the conclusion of the arraignment, after being told by an arresting office that defendant Wills had displayed his middle finger toward the officer in the courtroom, Judge Carter told the office that he didn’t observe the conduct and therefore wasn’t going to take any action. Office Van Amburgh expressed dissatisfaction with the judge’s statement, and Judge Carter then said, “If you are so upset about it, why don’t you just thump the shit out of him outside the courthouse, because I am not going to do anything about it.”
Judge Carter’s So-Called Punishment
The enablers and apologists sitting on the Judicial Commission were so outraged (not really) by Carter’s egregious misconduct that they gifted him with a complimentary censure.
This only further proves that Judicial Misfits are held to a much lower standard of conduct then we are. What do y’all think your punishment would be if you went after a judge sitting on the bench and threatened to kick his/her ass? |