HYDE PARK – The newly elected Hyde Park town justice is prohibited from presiding over certain cases until the New York Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics rules on at least one complaint filed against him just before the election in November.
Republican/Conservative Michael Plass, a former police officer, was elected as Hyde Park Town Justice in November along with incumbent Hyde Park Town Justice Jean McArthur.
Sources have told Mid-Hudson News that Plass can only preside over landlord/tenant cases and small claims actions. He is prohibited from presiding over criminal cases as well as those involving vehicle and traffic violations. The prohibition has resulted in the near doubling of Judge McArthur’s court calendar, according to a review of court calendars for the Hyde Park Justice Court.
A complaint was filed against Plass with the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct after he sent a campaign mailing in which he made certain pledges that are not allowed under state law. His pledges included one to “Keep drug dealers off our streets and out of our hotels” and vowing to sentence those convicted to the full extent of the law. Under the law, those types of pledges are indicative of a biased and partial mindset which is contradictory to the judge’s duties.
(The October Mid-Hudson News account of the complaints lodged against Plass and the associated laws can be found here.)
Even though Plass is unable to perform his full duties until the commission renders a decision, he is still receiving his full salary of more than $44,000 per year. His counterpart, Judge McArthur, is not receiving any additional salary despite having to preside over her court calendar and all of the cases that Judge Plass is barred from hearing.
Dutchess County District Attorney Anthony Parisi weighed in on the situation. “We are aware of the issue in Hyde Park and are developing a strategy that will allow criminal matters to move forward in a timely…
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