Records: Newfield town justice resigns after pretending to be her own daughter

Editor's Note:  This story was originally published by our partner publication, The Ithaca Voice.

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NEWFIELD, N.Y. – A Newfield town justice resigned in November after pretending to be her daughter on the telephone while leaving a voicemail for an attorney.

Linda A. Becker, who became a town justice Jan. 1, must never again seek or accept judicial office, according to a new release about the incident.

The records state that Becker's daughter was the complaining witness in a harassment case. Becker, at some point, impersonated her daughter, called an assistant district attorney in Tompkins County and asked that the charges be upgraded from harassment to assault.

An investigation into the incident began in August and Becker, who is not an attorney, represented herself in proceeding in front of the New York State Commission of Judicial Conduct.

She resigned in a letter to officials dated Nov. 30. Her resignation goes into effect on Dec. 31.

Her term was set to last until Dec. 31, 2018 and she was reportedly paid $10,000 for her role as a justice.

Commission Administrator Robert H. Tembeckjian made the following statement, “A judge is obliged to act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity of the judiciary. The allegation that a judge pretended to be someone else is serious enough, and is made even worse when the purpose is to interfere with a prosecutor doing his or her job.”

He said in an interview that he cannot release more information about the incident because of a confidentiality statute.

This is a developing story.

Featured photo by Brian Turner of Flickr. 

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