New York Judge Calls It Quits After Admitting To Keying A Car

Is this judge taking life advice from a country song?

I like Carrie Underwood’s Before He Cheats as much as anyone, but digging your key into the side of someone’s pretty little souped-up four-wheel drive isn’t actually a great plan for revenge. Particularly not when you’re a judge and supposed to be a paragon of good civic behavior.

But that’s allegedly exactly what Judge Gregory Burker, a justice of Watson Town Court in Lewis County, New York did. As reported by Law360, a complaint was filed with New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct on October 29, 2020, alleging he keyed a Watson town official’s car in an act of revenge for denying Burker health insurance. Told you, Medicare for All really is a great idea. Anyway, Burker pleaded guilty to criminal mischief and resigned his position in exchange for the Commission dropping their investigation and also promised not to seek another judicial office.

The Commission’s statement:

“Engaging in vandalism is inimical to the role of a judge and undermines public confidence in the integrity of the courts. It would be untenable to retain on the bench a judge who violates the very criminal laws he is sworn to administer upon others,” commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian said in a statement on Thursday.

Burker had served as judge since 1999, and his term was set to end in 2023.


headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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