HYDE PARK – Town Justice Michael Plass, who has been unable to preside over any law-enforcement/criminal cases in Hyde Park since he took office in January 2024, following a complaint against him for violating campaign laws when he was running for office.
In October 2023, while running for Hyde Park Town Justice, Judge Plass distributed a mailer that made or appeared to make pledges or promises of how he would rule on matters that might come before him in court, according to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
In October 2023, two sources contacted Mid-Hudson News and indicated they had filed complaints against Plass for violating judicial campaign ethics. Mid-Hudson News made repeated attempts to contact then-candidate Plass regarding the complaints. After learning of the campaign laws through the subsequent Mid-Hudson News article, Plass sent a new campaign mailer that complied with the law. He won the November 2023 election. Judge Plass also sought advice from the Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, which concluded that for his entire judicial term, he must disqualify himself from all criminal cases, cases involving allegations of domestic violence, Vehicle and Traffic Law matters, and cases involving purported drug dealers, in an opinion dated December 14, 2023. The matter was then referred to the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (SCJC).
After a hearing, the SCJC determined that “Judge Plass acknowledged the impropriety of his campaign mailer, and that admonition was the appropriate discipline, noting Judge Plass’s contrition, that the misconduct involved a single incident, that he ”took immediate remedial action,” and that admonition was consistent with precedents. It also found that his disqualification from a broad array of cases placed an undue burden on his co-judge.” Hyde Park Town Justice Jean McArthur was required to handle the majority of cases in town court, while Judge Plass was limited to landlord-tenant actions and other civil small claims matters.
The Commission, in the December 23, 2025, decision, also determined that “Judge Plass may now preside over the “full range of cases” in Hyde Park Town Court, needing only to disqualify where appropriate in individual cases.”
In rendering the SCJC decision, Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian said, “Judicial campaign literature must avoid even the appearance of bias or favoritism, and refrain from making pledges or promises about how the judge will rule on matters that may come before the court. The public admonition of Judge Plass for an isolated incident of misconduct frees him to handle his fair share of the court’s caseload.”
Plass, a former member of the Hyde Park Police Department, immediately went to work observing the criminal court proceedings in Judge McArthur’s court to become familiar with the process, and is prepared to assume his full duties as town justice. As for the complaint and decision, Plass expressed remorse, saying “I violated a campaign rule and was investigated for that violation. I respect the job that the commission did and completely respect the process involved in the investigation. The decision speaks for itself.”
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