Judge off bench after commission found he sided with defendants, ridiculed victims

Yates County town judge improperly tried to make prosecutor a witness in case, a state Commission on Judicial Conduct investigation finds 

By Patrick Tine

A foul-mouthed judge in the Yates County town of Jerusalem has resigned from his position after a state Commission on Judicial Conduct investigation determined he engaged in a pattern of “biased and discourteous behavior " and demonstrated a “significant misunderstanding of legal procedures” in multiple cases.

One of those was a case in which a man was found guilty of crashing into a horse-drawn buggy and injuring a Mennonite family. 

The judge, Todd C. Whitford, who is not an attorney, had served as the elected town justice since 2018. He resigned on Dec. 4 and agreed never to seek judicial office again, according to the commission’s decision.

The commission served him in September with a formal written complaint alleging misconduct in four cases.

During a preliminary hearing in a 2022 domestic violence case in which prosecutors said the male defendant violated an order of protection against the alleged female victim, Whitford said the woman had “the brain of a small child” and that her testimony in the case was “garbage,” according to a court transcript provided by the commission.

Whitford intimated that the woman invited the defendant’s alleged conduct, and the judge expressed sympathy for him. 

“I don’t even know why you’d want to even look at her. Don’t even — if she texts you, don’t text her back. . . you’re going to screw your entire life up…. Guys, they have it out for them,” Whitford said in the transcript. “This is like 15-year-old bull---- …. They’re going to freaking ruin your life. Don’t make contact with her. . . . Don’t. Go get a freaking lizard or a hamster or something. Spend your time with that. Don’t — man. Women, don’t do it.”

In a 2021 sentencing hearing, Whitford again expressed sympathy to the defendant who had admitted guilt in the car crash that injured seven people and killed their horse, according to the commission. “I hope you’re not mad at me,” the judge said.

Whitford also gave the man a pep talk, which touched on the significant local attention the case had received. “I just want you to walk tall,” Whitford said, according to the transcript provided by the commission. “Who gives a s--- about Facebook and what they post?”

The prosecutor noted every person riding in the buggy had been injured, and some victims were taken by helicopter to Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester for treatment. The judge interrupted the assistant district attorney when he referred to the collision as a “crash.”

During a July 2025 suppression hearing in an assault and child endangerment case, Whitford improperly tried to compel the same Yates County assistant district attorney to verify initials on a document, an act that would make the prosecutor a witness in the case, the commission said. 

In a 2021 case, the judge apologized to a defendant who had been convicted of his second drunken driving offense in less than five years. The punishment for the offense, even if the prosecution offers a plea deal, requires a defendant to serve jail time. The prosecution’s offer was five days in jail and 30 days of community service.

“Unbelievable,” Whitford said. “A person who’s never been in jail is going to go to jail? I’m sorry that you’re going to jail. I think it’s disgusting. I think it’s wrong.

In his resignation letter, Whitford said money concerns prevented him from continuing a legal fight with the commission. He had been representing himself in proceedings with the body since September.

“I simply do not have the financial means required to secure the level of legal representation necessary to continue,” he wrote. “As a part-time justice earning a modest stipend, the cost associated with navigating the Commission’s formal procedures is far beyond my resources. I want to be clear that I take seriously the concerns that have been brought forward. I am committed to learning from this experience. I regret that I will not have the opportunity to continue serving this town, and that I cannot fully take part in the process due to financial limitations, despite my desire to participate and provide the context necessary for a fair and complete evaluation.” 

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Judge off bench after commission found he sided with defendants, ridiculed victims