Judge Challenges Suspension After Repeatedly Using N-Word
An Upstate New York judge is challenging efforts to remove him from the bench after repeatedly using the n-word to refer to a Black man while recounting a story to employees. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is recommending that Canandaigua Town Court Justice Walter W. Jones, 82, be immediately removed from the bench upon […] The post Judge Challenges Suspension After Repeatedly Using N-Word appeared first on Chicago Defender.
Black News 
The State Commission on Judicial Conduct is recommending that Canandaigua Town Court Justice Walter W. Jones, 82, be immediately removed from the bench upon discovering that he “repeatedly used the n-word” during a parking lot conversation with two employees on May 10, 2024, according to Syracuse.com.
During the conversation, Jones allegedly used the word when telling a story about a Black man who was a friend of his father, whom he referred to as “n-word Harry.”
One of the employees told investigators that Jones used the word four times over eight minutes, while Jones himself claimed he used it only once.
The commission also explained in their recommendation that on May 15, 2024, Jones went on record saying that a woman who accused him of setting her bail higher because she was Black naturally “played the race card.”
The commission concluded the conduct in both cases violated judicial standards, and the state Court of Appeals ordered Jones’ immediate suspension on Thursday (April 16).
Jones issued a challenge to the commission’s recommendation via the Court of Appeals on Monday (April 20), arguing that his use of the word was justified for the sake of “authenticity and accuracy” when recounting the story to friends, per Syracuse.com.
“Firstly, let us state unequivocally that racism and racially insensitive comments have no place and will not be tolerated by the Town of Canandaigua,” Canandaigua Town Supervisor Don Cotter said in a statement provided to 13WHAM, released Wednesday (April 15), the day before the commission issued its recommendation. “Justice Jones has been suspended pending appeal. He is not sitting on the Town bench, nor will he do so until such time as his appeal is decided.”
Jones had reportedly been cautioned by the commission twice before the ruling: once in August 2021 for directing a court clerk to contact a complaining witness in a pending matter regarding a restitution amount, and again in March 2024 for “administrative inefficiencies and adjudicative tardiness” related to the management of court finances.
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The post Judge Challenges Suspension After Repeatedly Using N-Word appeared first on Chicago Defender.
