A Family Court judge whose alleged courtroom tirades included calling one man a “pig” and another “dysfunctional” has agreed to step down at the end of the year.
Judge Marian R. Shelton will finish out her 10-year term and agreed not to seek reappointment. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct, which monitors the conduct of judges, said Thursday it would not seek sanctions against her under the deal.
Shelton, 52, appointed in 1998 by then-Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, reportedly has offers to star on television in a role similar to “Judge Judy” Sheindlin’s.
The Commission on Judicial Conduct said it had started investigating her courtroom behavior but stopped when she agreed to leave.
It said Shelton admitted violating court rules in one case involving a woman who called the judge a vulgar name in court on Dec. 10, 2004. Shelton told the woman she was in contempt of court and ordered a court officer to handcuff her.
The judge told her “Shut up,” “Shut your mouth” and “Be quiet” and had her put in a holding cell. After several minutes in the cell, the woman said she would apologize if given the chance. She was taken into the courtroom and apologized.
Shelton told her, “You will never enter my courtroom again for any reason,” and the contempt charge was purged, the commission said.
Judge is 'proud of her record'
Shelton’s lawyer, Dean G. Yuzek, issued a statement noting Shelton’s achievements as a judge.
“Judge Shelton is proud of her record as a judge who has handled 40,000 cases against a handful of appellate reversals,” Yuzek said. He said Shelton made “a real and useful difference” in the lives of hundreds of people.
Other allegations against Shelton included:
- Calling a litigant “dysfunctional,” telling him, “You don’t have a home or a job. You don’t have an education.”
- Telling a Caribbean man before her that he looked “bizarre ... , like someone I would not give my pet mouse to,” and saying to the man, who had multicolored bands in his hair, “Take those stupid things out of your hair when you come back into my courtroom.”
- Telling a man he wasn’t allowed to see his child “because you’re a pig.”