New Hartford, N.Y. – A state Supreme Court justice elected by voters across Central New York is appealing an oversight committee’s call for her removal over racially charged remarks at a private party.
Erin Gall — a judge for the Fifth Judicial District based in Oneida County — has been suspended with pay since the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct ruled that she should be removed from office after an inappropriate interaction with police and civilians at a graduation party in 2022.
On Friday, Gall’s attorney notified the commission that they “do not accept the determination” and asked the state’s highest court -- the Court of Appeals -- to review the case.
Police body camera footage from the party showed Gall making a verbal threat to shoot a group of Black teens if they returned to her friend’s property. She also threatened to use her power as a judge to speak to responding police officers’ supervisors when they did not do what she suggested. At one point, she bragged to a police officer that she taught her son to beat others up if they attacked him, the commission said.
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The commission found that Gall tried to use her position as a judge to influence police, and demonstrated racial bias, and bias in favor of law enforcement. The judicial watchdog called for her removal.
On July 1 2022, Gall was a guest at the graduation party hosted by Stephen Pearce, an attorney and friend of Gall’s, at Pearce’s home on Tibbits Road in New Hartford. The party ran into the early hours of July 2 and got out of control after multiple groups of uninvited guests showed up at the party and fights broke out.
When police arrived, Gall immediately identified herself as a judge. As the party was clearing out, Gall singled out a group of four Black teens - who she claimed attacked her son and husband - who were searching for lost keys in a ditch.
Gall repeatedly asked police to detain the teens despite officers repeatedly explaining why they would not.
Throughout her interaction with police she repeatedly invoked her position as a judge. In testimony before the commission, she admitted that she should never have mentioned her title but argued that all the officers knew her as a judge already.
Later in the night, Gall told police that if the teens returned to her friend’s home to search for their lost keys, she would shoot them. She also insulted the teens’ intelligence by saying that they did not look like they would be attending business school, unlike her son.
When Gall was asked if she could see how these comments could demonstrate a racial bias, she agreed that it could appear that way. She told the commission that despite any appearance of bias, she was not racist.
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After the commission made its final determination to recommend Gall’s removal, commission member Nina M. Moore, of Syracuse, wrote a concurring opinion to highlight her concerns with the racially offensive statements.
Moore wrote that the appearance of racial bias is equally damaging to Gall’s credibility as a judge.
“If there were a therapeutic cure for racialized behavior, the world would likely be a better place,” Moore wrote. “But, until such a cure is available, Judge Erin Gall should not sit on the bench with Black litigants left to cross their fingers and hope for the best.”
Gall was elected to the bench in 2011. She ran as a Republican. Her current 14-year term is set to expire in December 2025. Voters from across Central New York voted for her. Her salary is $232,600.
In 46 years, the commission has issued 184 determinations of removal. The state Court of Appeals has reduced 10 determinations of removal to either a censure or an admonition, but has never dismissed a sanction that began as a request for removal.
Erin Gall campaigns at an annual Pompey spaghetti lunch in 2011 when she was running for state Supreme Court judge. She was elected to a 14-year term.Syracuse.com | The Post-Standard, file photo
Staff writer Anne Hayes covers breaking news, crime and public safety. Have a tip, a story idea, a question or a comment? You can reach her at ahayes@syracuse.com.