ALBANY – Prattsville Town Justice David Rikard resigned from his Greene County local post while under investigation by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
Rikard refused to cooperate with the commission during its investigation of three complaints against him. He refused to provide documents the commission requested, and he refused to appear for testimony when summoned by the commission.
Judge Rikard resigned from office on January 6, 2023. The commission’s inquiry nevertheless continued, and on January 26, 2023, he was served with formal disciplinary charges for the failure to cooperate.
He admitted the facts, agreed to never seek or accept judicial office in the future, and waived the statutory provision of confidentiality applicable to commission proceedings, to the limited extent that the stipulation and the commission’s order accepting it would be public.
The commission accepted a stipulation to that effect signed by the judge, his attorney and the commission’s administrator.
Judge Rikard, who is an attorney, had served as a Justice of the Prattsville Town Court since 2014. His current term would have expired on December 31, 2025.
“Cooperation is mandatory, not optional, when judges are called to account by the Judicial Conduct Commission. Stonewalling or otherwise refusing to participate undermines public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary and can result in removal from office,” said Commission Administrator Robert Tembeckjian.
