ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) -- A municipal judge has accepted censure as punishment for mocking an assault victim by comparing him to a lying character on "Saturday Night Live."
The state Commission on Judicial Conduct said Monday that Syracuse City Court Judge Karen Uplinger "demeaned and mocked" assault victim Anthony Nushwat in October 2004.
"Humor has its place, sometimes even in court. But it isn't funny for a judge to mock or belittle an assault victim who is making a statement to the court," said commission administrator Robert Tembeckjian. "A judge is obliged to be patient, dignified and courteous at all times while acting in an official capacity."
The commission said the judge compared Nushwat to Pathological Liars Anonymous member Tommy Flanagan, an SNL character created by Jon Lovitz whose tag line after telling obvious lies was: "Yeah, that's the ticket!"
"I think if you listen to Jon Lovitz, you might get an impression of how I felt when I was listening to this testimony," Uplinger said in court, according to the commission.
As Nushwat was reading a statement during a sentencing hearing, Uplinger told defendant Artis Bey: "You don't have to listen to this if you don't want to."
Uplinger, 58, agreed to the facts of the case and accepted the punishment, said Robert Tembeckjian, the commission's administrator.
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