§ 22. a. There shall be a commission on judicial conduct. The
commission on judicial conduct shall receive, initiate, investigate and
hear complaints with respect to the conduct, qualifications, fitness to
perform or performance of official duties of any judge or justice of the
unified court system, in the manner provided by law; and, in accordance
with subdivision d of this section, may determine that a judge or
justice be admonished, censured or removed from office for cause,
including, but not limited to, misconduct in office, persistent failure
to perform his or her duties, habitual intemperance, and conduct, on or
off the bench, prejudicial to the administration of justice, or that a
judge or justice be retired for mental or physical disability preventing
the proper performance of his or her judicial duties. The commission
shall transmit an* such determination to the chief judge of the court of
appeals who shall cause written notice of such determination to be given
to the judge or justice involved. Such judge or justice may either
accept the commission's determination or make written request to the
chief judge, within thirty days after receipt of such notice, for a
review of such determination by the court of appeals.

* So in original. ("an" should be "any".)

b. (1) The commission on judicial conduct shall consist of eleven
members, of whom four shall be appointed by the governor, one by the
temporary president of the senate, one by the minority leader of the
senate, one by the speaker of the assembly, one by the minority leader
of the assembly and three by the chief judge of the court of appeals. Of
the members appointed by the governor one person shall be a member of
the bar of the state but not a judge or justice, two shall not be
members of the bar, justices or judges or retired justices or judges of
the unified court system, and one shall be a judge or justice of the
unified court system. Of the members appointed by the chief judge one
person shall be a justice of the appellate division of the supreme court
and two shall be judges or justices of a court or courts other than the
court of appeals or appellate divisions. None of the persons to be
appointed by the legislative leaders shall be justices or judges or
retired justices or judges.

(2) The persons first appointed by the governor shall have
respectively one, two, three, and four-year terms as the governor shall
designate. The persons first appointed by the chief judge of the court
of appeals shall have respectively two, three, and four-year terms as
the governor shall designate. The person first appointed by the
temporary president of the senate shall have a one-year term. The person
first appointed by the minority leader of the senate shall have a
two-year term. The person first appointed by the speaker of the assembly
shall have a four-year term. The person first appointed by the minority
leader of the assembly shall have a three-year term. Each member of the
commission shall be appointed thereafter for a term of four years.
Commission membership of a judge or justice appointed by the governor or
the chief judge shall terminate if such member ceases to hold the
judicial position which qualified him or her for such appointment.
Membership shall also terminate if a member attains a position which
would have rendered him or her ineligible for appointment at the time of
appointment. A vacancy shall be filled by the appointing officer for the
remainder of the term.

c. The organization and procedure of the commission on judicial
conduct shall be as provided by law. The commission on judicial conduct
may establish its own rules and procedures not inconsistent with law.
Unless the legislature shall provide otherwise, the commission shall be
empowered to designate one of its members or any other person as a
referee to hear and report concerning any matter before the commission.

d. In reviewing a determination of the commission on judicial conduct,
the court of appeals may admonish, censure, remove or retire, for the
reasons set forth in subdivision a of this section, any judge of the
unified court system. In reviewing a determination of the commission on
judicial conduct, the court of appeals shall review the commission's
findings of fact and conclusions of law on the record of the proceedings
upon which the commission's determination was based. The court of
appeals may impose a less or more severe sanction prescribed by this
section than the one determined by the commission, or impose no
sanction.

e. The court of appeals may suspend a judge or justice from exercising
the powers of his or her office while there is pending a determination
by the commission on judicial conduct for his or her removal or
retirement, or while the judge or justice is charged in this state with
a felony by an indictment or an information filed pursuant to section
six of article one. The suspension shall continue upon conviction and,
if the conviction becomes final, the judge or justice shall be removed
from office. The suspension shall be terminated upon reversal of the
conviction and dismissal of the accusatory instrument. Nothing in this
subdivision shall prevent the commission on judicial conduct from
determining that a judge or justice be admonished, censured, removed, or
retired pursuant to subdivision a of this section.

f. Upon the recommendation of the commission on judicial conduct or on
its own motion, the court of appeals may suspend a judge or justice from
office when he or she is charged with a crime punishable as a felony
under the laws of this state, or any other crime which involves moral
turpitude. The suspension shall continue upon conviction and, if the
conviction becomes final, the judge or justice shall be removed from
office. The suspension shall be terminated upon reversal of the
conviction and dismissal of the accusatory instrument. Nothing in this
subdivision shall prevent the commission on judicial conduct from
determining that a judge or justice be admonished, censured, removed, or
retired pursuant to subdivision a of this section.

g. A judge or justice who is suspended from office by the court of
appeals shall receive his or her judicial salary during such period of
suspension, unless the court directs otherwise. If the court has so
directed and such suspension is thereafter terminated, the court may
direct that the judge or justice shall be paid his or her salary for
such period of suspension.

h. A judge or justice retired by the court of appeals shall be
considered to have retired voluntarily. A judge or justice removed by
the court of appeals shall be ineligible to hold other judicial office.

i. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the
legislature may provide by law for review of determinations of the
commission on judicial conduct with respect to justices of town and
village courts by an appellate division of the supreme court. In such
event, all references in this section to the court of appeals and the
chief judge thereof shall be deemed references to an appellate division
and the presiding justice thereof, respectively.

j. If a court on the judiciary shall have been convened before the
effective date of this section and the proceeding shall not be concluded
by that date, the court on the judiciary shall have continuing
jurisdiction beyond the effective date of this section to conclude the
proceeding. All matters pending before the former commission on judicial
conduct on the effective date of this section shall be disposed of in
such manner as shall be provided by law.