"A Learned and Methodical Jurist"

Manhattan criminal judge investigated for possible underage porn

by Laura Italiano, Joseph Goldstein and Larry Celona

As originally posted: New York Post
August 26, 2010

A highly-respected Manhattan judge - already on paternity leave after fathering a child with a Legal Aid lawyer - has resigned and is under investigation after officials found questionable pornography on his work computer, The Post has learned.

The ex-judge, James Gibbons, who handles misdemeanor and pre-indicted criminal cases, was already on thin ice ethics-wise after impregnating the public defender - a possible conflict of interest had she appeared before his bench, multiple sources involved in the investigation told The Post.

Then court officials learned earlier this month that he had been surfing questionable pornography sites, and, suspecting the porn could involve underage girls, turned the matter over to the DA's office while both the lawyer - Jeane Emhoff, a pretty blonde ten years his junior - and the judge were on leave caring for their new son, sources said.

Gibbons, 47, resigned Aug 17. A Harvard-educated former prosecutor with the Manhattan DA's appeals bureau and a Giuliani appointee, he is widely regarded as a learned and methodical jurist.

His high-profile defendants have included Naomi Campbell - for whom Gibbons nearly issued a bench warrant when she missed a court date on charges she flung a cell phone at a maid .

Investigators said rumors were already swirling about the judge drinking during non-work hours with a clique of Legal Aid lawyers - public defenders who represent many of the defendants before him, sources said. Then Emhoff became pregnant.

"He likely would have faced judicial sanctions for that - even though it's not illegal," said one law enforcement source.

"It was only after one of them got pregnant, and it came out that he was the father, that they began investigating him for possibly not recusing himself," said another law enforcement source said.

"Then Bam!" said the source. "They come across child pornography."

Gibbons' supporters at 100 Centre Street, where he worked, said he and his girlfriend plan to marry and are raising their son together. Gibbons could not be reached for comment; Emhoff declined comment when approached by reporters at the couple's Park Slope apartment.

Office of Court Administration spokesman David Bookstaver declined to comment on the matter, other than to say, "When we become aware of a possible crime, we refer such issues to the appropriate authorities."

Gibbons could not immediately be reached for comment. Erin Duggan, a spokeswoman for the Manhattan DA's office, said it was office policy not to confirm whether someone is under investigation.

Rebecca Harshbarger contributed to this story

Source: http://accesstoinfo.blogspot.com/2010/08/highly-respected-manhattan-judge.html