ALBANY – Poughkeepsie City Court Judge Frank Mora has been officially suspended by the New York State Court of Appeals after the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct (Commission) recommended that he be removed from the bench. The order, dated September 17, 2026, suspends Mora with pay following an investigation into his actions after a COVID-era incident at a local eye doctor’s office.
Mora has 30 days to request full review of the commission’s determination by the Court of Appeals. Should the judge request review of the commission’s removal determination, the court’s practice is to continue the suspension while the review is pending.
If Mora requests review, the court sets a schedule for the parties to file briefs and appear for oral argument. On review, the court may accept or reject the commission’s findings of fact or conclusions of law, may accept the determined sanction, impose a different sanction including admonition or censure, or impose no sanction.
The removal process began when Seeta Eye Center manager Stacey Koch filed a complaint with the Commission after a December 2021 incident involving Judge Mora, who refused to follow the Seeta mask policy. The incident escalated, and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police responded to the office because Judge Mora refused to leave.
Mora was vocally opposed to the COVID vaccination and mask policies that were instituted globally to prevent the spread of the deadly virus. .
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In January 2022, then , who oversaw trial courts in New York’s Ninth Judicial District, ordered Mora to stay out of his courtroom for failing to be vaccinated.
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