An embattled Rochester City Court judge has been sent to jail. It involves fallout from her 2016 drunk driving conviction.
Judge Leticia Astacio will be behind bars, at least until a hearing this Thursday.
She was placed in handcuffs when she showed up Monday at the Hall of Justice following a recent trip to Thailand.
A bench warrant had been issued for Astacio’s arrest last week after she missed a court appearance related to her earlier DWI conviction.
Her case was heard by Judge Stephen Aronson, who had harsh words for Astacio in the way she has conducted herself in this case.
“You’re doing everything to show that you don’t care what happens to your public trust, it looks that way to me.”
Her lawyer, Ed Fiandach responded to Spectrum News about the questions some people are raising about how Astacio has remained a judge through this entire process.
“This is an elected position, people voted for her. She won a primary, I think she defeated two candidates to be here. So, if you’re undoing the will of the public, I think it’s a very slow and deliberate process."
Judge Aronson made an offer to Astacio, to plead guilty to a declaration of delinquency, and get 45 days in jail, two years probation and wear an ankle monitor for six months.
She declined the offer, and was ordered held without bail until the Thursday hearing. When she eventually is released, she will be given other non-judicial tasks to do, such as legal research. That’s what State Supreme Court Justice Craig Doran, the administrative judge for the 7th judicial district, told WXXI News.
Doran says it’s part of his responsibility to make sure that the public’s faith in the judicial system is maintained.
But any decision about Astacio’s future status as a judge is up to the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
