In the Matter of Boulanger, 61 N.Y.2d 89 (1984)
A judge may be removed from office for egregious misconduct, including breaches of fiduciary duty and acts of dishonesty, even if those acts occurred outside the scope of their judicial duties, if the conduct brings disrepute to the judiciary.
Summary
Warren L. Boulanger, a Justice of the Cold Spring Village Court, was determined by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct to be removed from office. The Court of Appeals agreed, finding that Boulanger breached his fiduciary duty to a client by transferring the client’s assets to himself without proper disclosure, falsely reporting the client’s death, evading income taxes, and concealing assets in a divorce proceeding. The court held that this misconduct, even though occurring outside his judicial role, warranted removal because it demonstrated a lack of integrity and brought disrepute to the judiciary.
Facts
Warren Boulanger, an attorney and Village Justice, obtained a general power of attorney from his client, Fred Dunseith, an elderly, partially deaf and blind man. Boulanger then transferred approximately $135,000 of Dunseith’s assets to himself between 1975 and 1977, without fully informing Dunseith of the transactions. Boulanger falsely reported Dunseith’s death to a bank. After Dunseith’s actual death in 1977, Boulanger, as executor of the estate, failed to file timely gift tax returns, resulting in penalties. Boulanger was later convicted of federal income tax evasion related to his receipt of Dunseith’s assets. Additionally, he concealed assets in a financial affidavit during a divorce proceeding.
Procedural History
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct determined that Boulanger should be removed from his judicial office. Boulanger sought review of the Commission’s findings of fact, legal rulings, and determination of sanction in the New York Court of Appeals pursuant to Article VI, § 22 of the New York Constitution and § 44(9) of the Judiciary Law. Boulanger challenged the findings, claiming the transfers were gifts, the tax filing failures were due to negligence, and asserting his innocence regarding the tax evasion conviction.
Issue(s)
Whether a Village Justice should be removed from office for conduct including breaches of fiduciary duty, acts of dishonesty, and a criminal conviction, even when such conduct occurred outside the scope of the Justice’s judicial duties?
Holding
Yes, because Boulanger’s actions constituted serious misconduct that demonstrated a lack of integrity and brought disrepute to the judiciary, warranting his removal from office.
Court’s Reasoning
The Court of Appeals found Boulanger’s claim that Dunseith authorized the asset transfers as gifts to be incredible, citing the lack of corroborating evidence, Dunseith’s condition, and the absence of Boulanger as a beneficiary in Dunseith’s will. The court noted Boulanger owed Dunseith a fiduciary duty which was “seriously breached by the numerous deliberate deceptions in handling Dunseith’s financial affairs.” Regarding the failure to file gift tax returns, the court deemed Boulanger’s explanations (lack of knowledge and reliance on an accountant) unacceptable, stating that the ultimate responsibility for timely filing rested with Boulanger as the executor. The court highlighted Boulanger’s false report of Dunseith’s death and the false financial affidavit as further violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The court stated that, even without considering the federal conviction, Boulanger’s “abandonment of his fiduciary duties to his client and his other unethical and unlawful conduct cannot be tolerated, notwithstanding that all of the wrongdoings related to conduct outside his judicial office (see Matter of Steinberg, 51 NY2d 74, 83-84).” The court concluded that Boulanger’s unprincipled behavior brought disrepute to the judiciary, justifying his removal from office.