ROCHESTER, N.Y. -- After not reporting to work for several months, Rochester City Court Judge Leticia Astacio returned to the Hall of Justice, but it turns out, only briefly.
Astacio, whose highly-publicized legal saga began two years ago, never showed up for work Monday morning, the first day she was ordered to report. She did arrive Tuesday, her first day on the job since August.
However, her supervisor, State Supreme Court Judge Craig Doran says Astacio left after several hours, and hasn't reported back since.
Astacio was initially arrested in February 2016 for DWI and her comments in and outside of court, her missing court because she was overseas, and subsequent probation violations have garnered her extensive media attention. She must wear an alcohol monitoring bracelet after pleading guilty to her most recent violation, in November.
Since then, some of Astacio's more noteworthy comments have included:
- "I think that everything happens for a reason, including going to jail twice."
- "I don't know if you can possibly fathom what this negative attention has done to my life. To be known as #DrunkJudge, as opposed to, a teen mom who overcame the odds, as opposed to the youngest city court judge elected, as opposed to the first Hispanic female on the bench."
- and "The media has tried to break me."
Doran said that Astacio is supposed to work 9 to 5 each day court is in session; not hearing cases, but rather reviewing landlord tenant matters, doing legal research, and performing office-related duties. Doran said that he's tried all along to do everything he can to hold Astacio accountable.
Astacio’s salary as of April 1, 2016 was $173,700. Her current salary as of April 1, 2017 is $175,500. There is no projection on what the salary will be on April 1, 2018 in the new budget year.