An investigation into “vulgar” and “sexually charged” Facebook postings by a judge has led to his removal from office in Allegany County, officials of the State Commission on Judicial Conduct said Wednesday.
Judge David R. Stilson also used social media to conduct political fundraising activities for a gun rights organization that are prohibited by state regulations on judicial conduct, the commission said.
The commission said Stilson has been removed from his posts as a judge in Alma Town Court and Andover Village Court.
The commission said he has been under investigation since May of last year.
Stilson used his Facebook account “to publicly promote and/or approvingly comment upon posts and images that were demeaning toward women or otherwise offensive,” the commission wrote.
He also used his Facebook account to “publicly engage in fundraising for the National Rifle Association.”
The commission said the incidents occurred in 2014 but came to its attention last year.
Stilson, a judge since 2001, never responded to the allegations, the commission said.
They said Stilson, a businessman who is not a lawyer, began serving as a judge in Alma and the Town of Willing in 2001, and in Andover in 2019. His service in Willing ended in 2013.
The commission said Stilson posted a crude remark about women’s breasts on Facebook in February 2014 and another post listing 10 reasons why “Country Girls are Hotter.” The list included several crude references to women, the commission said, including an opinion that “sex in the woods is way better.”
He also posted an inappropriate image of a woman tied to her bed by her wrists and ankles, the commission said.
The commission said Stilson also broke state regulations regarding political fundraising by judges when he posted a Facebook item promoting $180 tickets to a March 2014 NRA fundraiser in Olean.
He also issued a post supporting state troopers and sheriffs who were refusing to enforce the state’s SAFE act.
The commission said Stilson’s social media posts had “objectified and denigrated women and included degrading, vulgar and disturbing images of women that are not appropriate for a judge to be posting publicly.”
They said his public support of the NRA cast doubt on his capability to handle cases involving political issues involving the gun rights organization.
“There is no place on the bench for a judge who demeans women or seems to have no idea why public confidence in the courts would be undermined when a judge posts the image of a woman tied to a bed or makes juvenile references to a woman’s breasts on social media,” said the commission’s administrator, Robert H. Tembeckjian. “That Judge Stilson also engaged in prohibited fundraising for the NRA only underscores his disregard for judicial ethics and unfitness for office.”
Stilson could not immediately be reached for comment after the decision was made public late Wednesday morning.
The investigation was headed by John J. Postel, deputy administrator in charge of the commission's Rochester office.
"vulgar" - Google News
February 03, 2022 at 01:27AM
https://ift.tt/4JOuVjBaK
Vulgar Facebook postings lead to removal of judge in two Allegany County courts - Buffalo News
"vulgar" - Google News
https://ift.tt/Ed6LXOr2e
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Vulgar Facebook postings lead to removal of judge in two Allegany County courts - Buffalo News"
Post a Comment