THURSDAY: State court upholds removal of city court judge (11:50 a.m.)

News Refresh

June 5, 2008

By Mark Scheer<br><a href="mailto:scheerm@gnnewspaper.com">E-mail Mark</a> The Niagara Gazette Thu Jun 05, 2008, 11:50 AM EDT

The New York State Court of Appeals has denied Robert Restaino's bid to return to the bench in Niagara Falls City Court.

Restaino, who was suspended with pay following a state commission on judicial conduct's decision that he went too far in jailing 46 people who were in his courtroom the day he became agitated by the sound of what was believed to be a ringing cell phone.

In its ruling released this morning, the State Court of Appeals found that Restaino's actions deprived those individuals "their liberty without due process" and exhibited "insensitivity, indifference and a callousness so reproachable that his continued presence on the bench cannot be tolerated."

The now infamous cell phone ringing incident occurred March 11, 2005. Restaino was presiding over a session of Domestic Violence Court when he became agitated by a ringing noise. Unable to determine the source of the sound through questioning of those in the room, Restaino sent all those in attendance to jail. Some of those individuals were held for several hours.

The State Commission on Judicial Conduct ordered Restaino removed from the bench on Nov. 13 based on what commissioners described as the judge's "egregious and unprecedented abuse of judicial power."

In making his case to the state Court of Appeals, Restaino's attorney, Terrence Connors did not contest what happened in courtroom the day of the cell phone incident, but did argue that his client suffered from psychological distress on the day in question due, in large part, to an overwhelming caseload. Connors asked the court to consider a lighter sentence of a sanction for Restaino, which would have allowed him to return to the bench in the future.

Instead, the court upheld the commission's findings and in doing so characterized Restaino's action as "truly egregious" and contended that the public has "irretrievably lost confidence in (Restaino's) ability to properly carry out constitutionally mandated responsibilities in a fair and just manner."

Contact reporter Mark Scheer at 282-2311, ext. 2250

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