A Binghamton City Court judge was censured last month for disparaging conduct that created a “difficult work environment” for other court staff, according to a ruling from the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

Daniel L. Seiden, who has served on the court since 2008, received a formal complaint on Feb. 4 related to interactions with other judges and administrative officials beginning around April 2023. It alleged that Seiden “failed to be dignified and courteous with court staff and senior court officials,” was unable to work with colleagues to finish court tasks, and “contributed to a hostile work environment” in the City Court. Three weeks after the complaint, Seiden and the state commission agreed on the facts and waived oral argument.

The complaint largely focused on Seiden’s behavior about two years ago amid changes to parts of “the court’s longstanding system for tracking activities in criminal cases.” On April 25, 2023, Seiden stepped into the office of Jennifer Katz, the chief clerk, and “loudly and angrily criticized” the implementation of a new form to record a criminal defendant’s procedural background in a case.

He also partially blamed Sophie Bergman, a fellow judge appointed by Mayor Jared Kraham in January 2023, for pushing the idea forward, arguing that “she was too new to the court to implement a new system.” Bergman received training from a judge in the Cortland City Court, which routinely used the new form.

The next day, Katz and Marta Foster, the deputy chief clerk, met with Seiden to discuss his concerns about the form. He said during the meeting that the new system was, among other things, an “’offensive intrusion’ by administrative staff into his province” by court staff and a “political maneuver” to boost Bergman’s career.

Katz sent an email to Seiden on April 27 addressing some of the personal comments he made during the meeting.

“You said it was my fault we have lost ‘the good staff’ and asked me not to implement change, saying things such as: ‘Can you just keep it together for the next 20 months?’ (indicating that I should not implement necessary change for the next 20 months) and ‘Stay out of my shorts,’” Katz wrote. “These comments were unproductive to the discussion.”

“Feeling uncomfortable with the tone, I ended the meeting by stating that if you think of anything that can make this process better for you, that we could speak then,” she continued.

A few hours later, Seiden responded, saying the form was unnecessary and represented “change just for the sake of change.” He also told Katz to “stay away from my benchwork and stay in your own lane.”

Seiden met with Eugene Faughnan, an administrative judge, in May to discuss the incident. Faughnan emailed him two days later, saying that clerks work on behalf of the court, not for an individual judge, and the form represented “one possible bridge” to the eventual sole use of electronic files.

Seven months later, Faughnan told Seiden and his colleagues that the court would adopt a new online filing system called “New York Bench.” Seiden opposed the new system and wrote in a February 2024 email that he would ask clerks to continue providing physical copies of files. Faughnan again reminded Seiden that “court officers and clerk staff do not work for you” and said that his court was the only one in the district “that has not embraced this system.”

Over the next three months, Seiden sent several messages to Katz involving his continued opposition to New York Bench and said in a May 21 email that she directed other clerks not to make physical copies of certain court documents. He said Faughnan told her to make the order, and he believed “almost all of your actions here are made with his blessing.”

On July 23, Seiden was removed from his duties in Binghamton after the state court system’s managing inspector general for bias matters found a credible complaint related to the original April 2023 meeting with Katz and Foster. He was then reassigned to the Cortland City Court.

Seiden contacted several administrative judges on Oct. 3, almost 90 days after his reassignment, and suggested a longer reassignment would violate state law. After the judges rejected his claim, Seiden replied on Oct. 15 and said the judges were using an “administrative trick” to keep him out of the Binghamton City Court.

Last month, the state’s Commission on Judicial Conduct found that Seiden violated several rules requiring judges to act properly and “be patient, dignified and courteous” to everyone “with whom the judge deals in an official capacity.”

“Respondent’s disparagement of court officials and his failure to comply with his Administrative Judge’s instructions violated the Rules and contributed to a difficult work environment,” the commission concluded.

The panel said Seiden acknowledged his conduct was improper and that he voluntarily completed online programs on workplace respect. The state court system’s Public Information Office did not return Pipe Dream’s request for comment.

Seiden will return to Binghamton City Court on April 28.