On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, Spectrum 1 News reported that Herkimer County Personnel Officer Steve Billings confirmed the hiring of Erin Gall as an assistant county attorney. Gall, a former Oneida County state judge, began her new position on January 2nd, earning an annual salary of $108,150. Her responsibilities encompass a wide range of legal tasks assigned by the County Attorney, including handling lawsuits and litigation filed against the county, conducting legal research, and drafting legal memoranda.
Gall’s appointment follows her removal from the bench by the New York Court of Appeals the previous week. This action was a direct result of a recommendation from the state Commission on Judicial Conduct in July 2024. The commission’s recommendation stemmed from an incident at a high school graduation party in 2022. During a disturbance at the party, Gall, while off-duty, engaged in inappropriate conduct. Specifically, she misused her judicial authority attempting to have uninvited guests arrested, made threats of violence against Black teenagers, and boasted about her son’s actions against another partygoer.
Before her removal, Gall served as an elected judge in Oneida County since 2012, holding the position of State Supreme Court Justice. Her removal marked the culmination of a process initiated by the Commission on Judicial Conduct’s investigation into her behavior at the 2022 party. The details of the incident, as reported, led to the formal removal from her judicial post and subsequent employment in Herkimer County.
Source: Spectrum 1 News
