BUFFALO, NY — A New York judge who was reprimanded after he was seen on video pushing a police officer during a brawl with neighbors will be replaced on the bench, authorities said Wednesday.
Judge Mark Grisanti, acting Supreme Court Justice in Buffalo, has been serving as a “holdover” since his term on the Court of Claims expired last year, essentially awaiting reappointment. His name did not appear on Gov. Kathy Hochul’s list of 25 judicial nominees considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday and he was not reappointed, according to a spokesman for Sen. Brad Hoylman-Sigal, the committee’s chairman.
Court spokesman Al Baker said Grisanti would remain in his position until a new justice begins his term.
Grisanti had not received formal notice Wednesday that he would not be reappointed, his attorney Terrence Connors said.
The New York Commission on Judicial Conduct voted in April to censure Grisanti, but narrowly rejected the administrator’s recommendation to remove him from office after finding he had shown “extremely poor judgment” for his actions in June 2020. The commission also accused Grisanti of participating in legal proceedings. cases involving a lawyer who had made payments to him as part of a business deal.
Connors said Grisanti had been an exemplary judge.
“Lawyers and judges who know his work best want him to remain on the court,” Connors said in an email. “Even the State Commission on Judicial Conduct has confirmed after a thorough investigation that, on balance, two hours of misconduct does not warrant removal from his position in court.”
Grisanti’s expletive-filled confrontation with police followed a dispute with neighbors over parking. In the video, the shirtless judge can be heard telling officers that Mayor Byron Brown is a friend and that he has family members on the force.
At one point, Grisanti pushes a police officer who is trying to handcuff his wife, telling the officer, “You’ll regret it.” Grisanti himself is then handcuffed and put in a police car. He was not charged.
Grisanti was first appointed to the court in 2015.