The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct announced on Monday, July 24, 2023, that Corrie A. Damulis, a Justice of the Burlington Town Court in New York, had resigned while being investigated for allegedly mishandling court funds and not filing or remitting reports or funds to the state comptroller as required by law.

In June 2023, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct informed Judge Damulis that they were investigating two complaints against her. The first allegation was that she mishandled court funds during her tenure as Justice of the Richfield Springs Village Court and the Burlington Town Court. The second complaint accused her of failing to file required reports and remit funds to the state comptroller, which led to her salary being withheld. The Commission scheduled testimony from Judge Damulis regarding these matters on June 27, 2023.

However, instead of testifying, she chose to resign and agreed never to seek or accept any judicial office in the future. The Commission accepted a stipulation, signed by Judge Damulis, her attorney, and the Commission’s administrator, formalizing her resignation and commitment not to hold any judicial position again. The stipulation, signed on June 27, 2023, was later accepted by the Commission through an order issued on July 20, 2023.

Judge Damulis waived the statutory provision of confidentiality applicable to Commission proceedings, allowing the stipulation and the Commission’s order accepting it to be made public.

Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian made the following statement: “Public confidence in the town and village courts is undermined whenever a judge fails to account properly forecourt-collected fines and fees and fails to deposit those funds in a timely manner. Judge Damulis’s failure to do so resulted in her salary being stopped and her departure from the bench.”

Judge Damulis, a lawyer, had worked as a Justice of the Burlington Town Court since 2020 and was supposed to serve until the end of 2023. Before that, she was a Justice of the Richfield Springs Village Court from 2016 to 2022. More information about her can be found on the website of the Town of Burlington.

A copy of the original filing can be found here.