NY federal judgeship candidate in hot water over role in discrimination case

A former candidate for a federal judgeship in New York faces possible sanctions related to his representation of SUNY Upstate Medical University in a court case.

Jorge A. Rodriguez was nominated this July to take the place of Judge David N. Hurd in the U.S. District Court in the Northern District of New York, after Hurd indicated last year he intended to take a type of semi-retirement for federal judges known as senior status.

But a day after Rodriguez's nomination, Hurd, 85, wrote he would withdraw his intention to take senior status, stating his successor should be based out of the Utica area like himself. Rodriguez lives in Clifton Park, near Albany.

Hurd reiterated this the following month and said he would remain in active status for the time being, despite Rodriguez indicating he would serve on the Utica bench.

Rodriguez has served as a New York State assistant attorney general in Albany since 2014. It was in this capacity he came under scrutiny by federal Judge Mae A. D'Agostino.

Acting on behalf of the Office of the Attorney General, Rodriguez represented SUNY Upstate Medical University after it was sued by a former employee alleging sexual harassment and discrimination, and wrongful termination after he complained to a supervisor about the alleged treatment.

In a Nov. 9 decision, D'Agostino ruled in favor of the hospital, pointing to the fact the former employee failed to file with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission within the 300-day window since he was fired by the hospital. But she also reprimanded Rodriguez for not raising this argument until less than two weeks before the case was set to go to trial.

"By failing to file a motion on this dispositive issue earlier, the Attorney General's office not only wasted their own time and resources, but also wasted Plaintiff's counsel's time and resources, and this Court's time and resources," she wrote in her decision.

D'Agostino ordered Rodriguez show cause as to why he should not face sanctions for failing "to obey a scheduling or other pretrial order" that could have prevented preparation for a trial for a case that he knew would be thrown out.

Attorney General's office, plaintiff respond

Assistant attorney general Kelly L. Munkwitz filed a response on Nov. 22, arguing Rodriguez was justified in not raising the argument that the plaintiff had not exhausted all resources, since the plaintiff had alleged otherwise.

"Simply stated, any confusion with respect to the accrual of Plaintiff’s claim is due to Plaintiff," she wrote. "Accordingly, it would be unjust to impose sanctions on Defendant’s Counsel."

The plaintiff's own attorney responded to the order Nov. 23, stating that Rodriguez's response was "misleading and disingenuous," stating that Rodriguez could have moved for a dismissal years before the trial was scheduled to commence.

"Defendant’s excuses for raising the exhaustion defense are the equivalent of kicking the Plaintiff when he has already lost so much, including the right to a jury trial only mere days before it was scheduled to commence," the plaintiff's statement said.

In a response Monday, Munkwitz said the plaintiff failed to disclose he filed with the EEOC.

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A call for diversity vs. Utica representation

Rodriguez, 44, would have been the first Hispanic judge to preside over the Northern District, according to the White House. He and other nominees were meant to reflect the country's diversity, a release from the White House stated.

Last month, the Philadelphia-based Latino newspaper Al Día reported that the Hispanic National Bar Association sent a letter to Judge Roslynn R. Mauskopf, the director of the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts, urging her to recognize the court vacancy — assumedly in favor of Rodriguez's nomination.

But the appointment stirred some controversy in the Mohawk Valley, with politicians like state Sen. Joseph Griffo, R-Rome, calling the nomination an "attempt to steal a judgeship from the Mohawk Valley."

But with Hurd remaining active, the seat will not be open for the foreseeable future.

H. Rose Schneider covers public safety, breaking and trending news for the Observer-Dispatch in Utica. Email Rose at hschneider@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Observer-Dispatch: Former NY federal judge candidate in hot water over past case