Lake Placid justice resigns to end inquiry

Lohr McKinstry, The Press-Republican, Plattsburgh, N.Y.
·2 min read

Feb. 6—LAKE PLACID — David J. Coursen resigned as Lake Placid village justice during a recent inquiry into his conduct in office by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The commission informed Coursen in January that it was investigating a complaint that he was prejudiced in favor of a defendant in a code enforcement case, had engaged in ex parte communication with the defendant, and had shown bias against the code enforcement officer who filed the charge by berating him in court.

The North Elba Town Justice Court will handle village cases until a new village justice is named.

APPOINTED IN 2019

Coursen was appointed in 2019 to fill a vacancy, then successfully ran for the office and was elected to a term expiring June 7, 2025. He couldn't be reached for comment for this story.

In the proceedings before the Albany-based commission, Coursen, who is not an attorney, represented himself. The commission was represented by Deputy Administrator Cathleen S. Cenci, Senior Attorney Kathleen E. Klein, and Senior Investigator Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Coursen appeared at the commission for testimony in late January, and during a hearing said he wished to resign from judicial office immediately rather than continue testifying, according to court documents.

The judge's testimony was then suspended, and he resigned from office the same day and agreed never to seek or accept judicial office in the future. The commission accepted a stipulation to that effect signed by the judge and the commission administrator, the documents said.

Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian indicated Coursen should not have presided in the code enforcement matter.

"It is fundamental to the administration of justice that judges be and appear fair and impartial, or public confidence in the courts will be lost," he said in a statement.

"Presiding over a matter despite being biased toward one party and against the other is bad enough. Having unauthorized private conversations with the favored litigant only compounds the misconduct."

Coursen retired from the Lake Placid Village Police Department after 20 years of service, and has since served as a part-time driver for the Lake Placid Fire Department and bus driver for the Lake Placid Central School District.

Email: lmckinstry@pressrepublican.com

Twitter: @LohrMcKinstry