An upstate New York judge is fighting to keep his seat on the bench after he was suspended with pay for making racist remarks two years ago. The New York Court of Appeals ordered the immediate suspension of Canandaigua Town Court Justice Walter W. Jones following an investigation into an incident in May 2024. The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended Canandaigua Town Court Judge Walter Jones be removed from the bench for repeatedly using the n-word in a conversation with two colleagues. (Photo: Screenshot/WROC) The State Commission of Judicial Conduct recommended that Jones be removed from the bench after discovering that he repeatedly used the N-word while telling a story to two colleagues on May 10, 2024. According to WHAM, the 81-year-old town justice told two court employees about how his father befriended a Black man who worked on his grandfather’s cotton fields in Texas in the 1950s. While telling the story, Jones would only refer to the Black man as the N-word. Georgia Cops Terrorize Black Woman in ‘Gestapo-Style’ Raid for a Fugitive Who Was Already In Jail — Before Ransacking Her Home and Fleeing the Scene Without an Apology Jones told the court employees that his father called the man “[n-word] Harry,” according to Syracuse.com. One court worker reported that Jones used the slur four times in just eight minutes. Jones told the commission he only said the word once, and argued that his use of the slur was justified for “authenticity and accuracy” in a story he was telling to “two friends.” The judge was also accused of making more racially offensive remarks in the days after the conversation. On May 15, 2024, a female court defendant claimed that Jones set her bail at a higher amount because she is Black. During a court hearing, Jones stated on the record that “naturally she played the race card,” the commission reported. The commission recommended that Jones be booted from the bench entirely for the remarks after finding that his conduct violated judicial standards. On April 16, the state Court of Appeals suspended him. The 81-year-old town justice is now fighting to keep his position. He challenged the commission’s recommendation before the Court of Appeals. His suspension will remain in place during his appeal as the court determines whether to remove him or enforce a different action. He has served on the Canandaigua Town Court since 1999. His current term expires on December 31, 2027. He had been flagged twice in the past for unrelated incidents. In a statement, Canandaigua Town Supervisor Don Cotter said, “racism and racially insensitive comments have no place and will not be tolerated by the Town of Canandaigua.” “Firstly, let us state unequivocally that racism and racially insensitive comments have no place and will not be tolerated by the Town of Canandaigua,” the statement reads. “Justice Jones has been suspended pending appeal. He is not sitting on the Town bench, nor will he do so until such time as his appeal is decided. All court cases are being handled without disruption by the Honorable Justice Roxin.” New York Judge Suspended After Using the N-Word to Tell a Story About Black Man Says He Did It for ‘Authenticity and Accuracy’ ...read more read less