The state's highest court has affirmed a determination by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct that a Canandaigua town justice who reportedly used racial slurs should be removed from the bench.
Walter Jones was first elected as town justice in 1999, and the sanction stems from two incidents in May 2024. The commission issued a determination calling for his removal this past March.
In one of the incidents, he allegedly used a racial slur while recounting a personal story in the parking lot of the Ontario County Jail to a court staff member and an assistant public defender after arraigning a defendant, according to the opinion handed down Tuesday by the state Court of Appeals. The court must affirm all sanctions by the Commission on Judicial Conduct before they can be enacted.
Five days later, he allegedly said from the bench that a Black defendant had "played the race card," according to the opinion.
Jones argued that in the first instance, he was relaying what another person said to add authenticity to the story, according to the opinion. And he argued that his statements in both incidents did not create the appearance of racial bias.
He also argued that the sanction was too severe, an assertion the court rejected.
"My client has no comment while we explore our options for federal relief,” said Levi Stoep, a partner at the Dordrecht Layton law firm.
