Bronx judge Jeffrey Zimmerman resigns after misconduct commission investigation for ‘discourteous behavior'

Yahoo

17-03-2025

An outspoken Bronx judge has agreed to resign — and never return to the bench — following complaints that he criticized a jury's verdict and engaged in a 'pattern of discourteous behavior' including blasting a fellow judge, the Daily News has learned.
Acting Supreme Court Judge Jeffrey Zimmerman in a Feb. 19 letter to Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas said he was stepping down effective April 3. In return, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct dropped the investigation.
In agreeing to step down, Zimmerman stipulated that he would not try to return to the bench. The commission said there have been 148 such stipulations since the process was started in 2003.
The last time a city judge agreed to a stipulation was in 2023, when a Family Court judge resigned while under investigation for long absences from work and a Surrogate Court judge resigned amid charges of misconduct.
Zimmerman could not be reached for comment. But his lawyer, Deborah Scalise, noted that there were 'no findings of wrongdoing.'
She also pointed out his 41 years of service as a federal and state prosecutor, criminal justice policy expert, private sector lawyer and his 'encore career' — seven years as a judge.
According to the commission on Judicial Conduct, Zimmerman was accused of misconduct in January.
Zimmerman at a criminal court arraignment 'interfered in the attorney-client relationship between a defendant and his attorney, repeatedly disparaged the defendant's attorney and appeared to prejudge the defendant's guilt.'
Zimmerman was also accused of privately talking to the jury following a criminal trial 'and conveyed information to the jury that could be interpreted as implicitly criticizing its verdict,' according to documents posted by the commission.
In two other cases, the commission said in the documents, Zimmerman 'disparaged a fellow judge who authored an opinion with which he disagreed.' In that instance, and at another time, Zimmerman 'failed to be patient, dignified and courteous to attorneys appearing before him.'
Specifics about the cases were not released.
The commission noted that Zimmerman, who has no prior disciplinary history, cooperated with its investigation 'and apologized for his conduct.'
'Judges are obliged to be patient, dignified and courteous with all whom they see in their professional capacity,' said Commissioner Administrator Robert Tembeckjian, 'and to afford all litigants and their lawyers the opportunity to be heard.'
'They must also refrain from praising or criticizing a jury for its verdict.'
Zimmerman said in the letter that it has been 'an honor and a privilege to serve in this position.'
Zimmerman had been a staunch critic of the 2020 bail reform laws. In a 2022 op-ed piece for The News, Zimmerman wrote that the public debate about bail reform 'has become completely divorced from the purpose of the statute.'
'If our elected officials believe that bail should be set only to ensure return to court — and if they believe New Yorkers are willing to accept that — they should then stop defining 'bail-eligible' offenses in terms of violence, absent any evidence that those accused of such crimes are less likely to return to court,' he added. 'And if they're not prepared to do this, then they should allow judges to consider the safety of the community when setting bail, as do most other jurisdictions.'
In 2021, Zimmerman raised eyebrows when it came to light that he and a federal judge had required two defendants entering into plea deals to get a COVID-19 vaccine.
Zimmerman had argued that while the defendant in his case, William Gregory — charged with drug possession, criminal trespass and shoplifting— had clearly acted out of self-interest and that the vaccine was for the societal good and indicative of Gregory's rehabilitation.