Erie County Supreme Court Justice Catherine Nugent Panepinto has been censured by the state s Commission on Judicial Conduct after admitting to numerous violations related to her public support of Buffalo Public Schools teachers in litigation against the School Board.
The Commission is an independent state agency charged with investigating allegations of judicial misconduct against New York state, county, town and village judges. It said the original complaint was made in January.
The complaint alleged Panepinto made repeated public comments, assisted in providing legal advice, signed advocacy letters, executed an affidavit filed in Supreme Court and spoke with School Board members in support of a lawsuit by the Buffalo Teachers Federation in early 2018. The BTF s lawsuit aimed to stop the district from assigning supervisory and non-instructional duties to teachers at City Honors High School, where Panepinto s daughter attended in 2017-2018.