BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct censured acting State Supreme Court Judge Mark Grisanti Tuesday for an altercation that occurred in 2020.
The commission ruled that the Erie County judge would not be removed for engaging in a street brawl with his neighbors, and for participating in cases with an attorney he had an ongoing financial relationship with.
Six Commission members voted for the censure, while four voted to remove the judge.
"He displayed especially poor judgment that day, we do not find that removal from judicial office is warranted for this single incident particularly since it occurred in the context of a longstanding dispute between the entire neighborhood," the commission wrote.
The fight, which began following a dispute over a parking spot in front of the Grisanti home, was caught on a surveillance camera mounted on the neighbors’ home.
Before Buffalo police officers arrived, both the shirtless judge and his wife confronted their neighbors. The altercation with neighbors became physical.
After an arriving officer grabbed Grisanti’s wife and brought her to the ground attempting to handcuff her, Grisanti shoved him and yelled, “You arrest my f****** wife…you’re going to be sorry,” and “My son…and my daughter are…both police officers.”
Grisanti himself was handcuffed and placed in a police car at the scene and continued to drop the names of high-ranking police officials and the Mayor of Buffalo.
In July 2020, the Erie County District Attorney's Office announced no charges would be filed in connection to the incident.
The commission said it considered several mitigating factors in its decision, including that the judge has been attending counseling since the incident.
"The multiple-day hearing featured testimony from lawyers, court personnel, and other judges that Justice Grisanti is an exemplary judge who is diligent, hardworking and courteous," wrote Grisanti's attorneys at Connors LLP in a statement to 7 News.
"Today's decision concludes that, on balance, Justice Grisanti's conduct during a two-hour period of one day, compared to his excellent record as a judge, does not warrant removal from the bench," Connors added.
The altercation involving Grisanti and his wife was not the first.
Grisanti was injured in a 2012 scuffle at the Seneca Niagara Casino in Niagara Falls in which he said he and his wife were attacked and beaten during a confrontation with members of the Seneca Nation of Indians. He was a New York State Senator at the time.
The commission also found that Grisanti took judicial action in eight cases involving a lawyer who owed him money. Grisanti did not disclose their relationship on the record of those cases.
“I hope Judge Grisanti appreciates how close he came to being removed, and that his future conduct will exemplify the integrity and dignity required of his high office," said Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian.
