Marek Grisanti, judge in the Modern York Court of Claims will not be reappointed to a second term this week after a piercing confrontation with Buffalo officers in 2020. Grisanti and his wife were arguing with a neighbor about street parking when police were called. Bodycam footage shows a shirtless judge pushing an officer. He was arrested but never charged with anything in connection with the incident.
Police interaction escalated after Grisanti’s wife did not comply with the order stop screaming and was handcuffed. The judge stood before them and said, “You better f**k off my wife.” Erie County District Attorney John Flynn explained WGRZ that the officers decided not to press charges. Flynn stated that although they did not know the man they arrested was on trial, the officer later learned of his identity.
The prosecutor did not personally consider Grisanti’s actions a crime. He added: “Honestly, it was nothing more than four 50-year-olds and 60-year-olds acting like kids.” Despite the officers’ decisions, the Modern York Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended that Grisanti be censured in April 2024 over the incident. Terry Connors, Grisanti’s lawyer, Spectrum 1 News:
“Judge Grisanti has not received formal notification of his reappointment. But judges and lawyers who know his work best expressed support. Even the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, after a thorough investigation, concluded that two hours of misconduct did not justify his removal from the bench. Every objective indicator confirms its maintenance.”
It wouldn’t be ridiculous to assume that body camera footage is the only reason Grisanti was traded. His connections with the locals law enforcement withdrew the charges. If there had been no footage, the whole thing could have been swept under the rug.