16 June 2017

A Democrat Judge Arrested in Courthouse

Democrat Judge Arrested
An embarrassing scene unfolded last 5 June when a liberal New York City Court judge was escorted from judicial chambers in handcuffs.

Rochester court deputies and city police officers executed a bench warrant issued for Judge Leticia Astacio's arrest after she missed a court appearance related to an August drunken-driving conviction.

Astacio, a Rochester City Court judge, smiled and said hello to the gaggle of reporters waiting for her at the fifth floor elevator bank of the Monroe County Hall of Justice where officers marched her off to be processed at the nearby Rochester Public Safety Building. She returned later to the courthouse for an arraignment before Judge Stephen Aronson of Canandaigua City Court, who issued the warrant and is overseeing her drunken-driving case.

He ordered her held without bail in Monroe County Jail until a hearing. The reason she missed her court appearance was because she had been living in a temple with monks in the mountains of Thailand since May 3, she had texted to her lawyer.

"You're doing everything to show you don't care what happens to your public trust," Aronson said.

In court last 5 June, Aronson offered Astacio a deal: Plead guilty to violating her initial drunk-driving sentence and receive 45 days in jail, two years of probation and six months on an ankle monitor. She declined and was ordered to jail.

On 13 February 2016, Astacio was arrested around 8:00 A.M. ET on her way to City Court after New York state troopers were summoned to what appeared to be a one-car crash Interstate 490. She refused to take a Breathalyzer test

On 22 August 2-16, she was sentenced to a one-year conditional discharge that was extended to February 2018 after she admitted violating two conditions: abstaining from alcohol and not driving under the influence.

Astacio, elected to a 10-year term in 2014, also was in court in March when she beat four allegations that she violated the conditions of her sentence. One alleged that she twice drank alcohol, and three others were related to the use and maintenance of her ignition interlock device, which prevents a vehicle from starting if a driver has had too much to drink.

In May, Astacio was summoned to court after her interlock device on 29 April registered a blood-alcohol-content reading of 0.0651 percent. A vehicle will start only if a person's blood-alcohol content is below 0.03 percent.