A judge in Niagara Falls, New York, has apologized for jailing nearly four dozen people over a ringing mobile phone in his courtroom, his attorney said Wednesday.
In removing City Court Judge Robert Restaino from office Tuesday, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct called his decision to lock up 46 people after no one claimed ownership of the phone “a gross deviation from the proper role of a judge.”
But Restaino’s lawyer, Terrence Connors, said Wednesday the judge “profoundly apologizes for his actions” during the March 2005 hearing and will appeal the panel’s ruling.
