STOCKTON – The Stockton Town Court Judge has resigned while under investigation by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.
The resignation of Stockton Town Court Justice Mark A. Cunningham was announced by the commission Thursday, amid an investigation into courthouse misconduct and failing to cooperate.
Cunningham left office January 18 and agreed that he would never seek or accept judicial office at any time in the future.
The commission initially told Cunningham in July 2020 that it was investigating a complaint where he allegedly engaged in inappropriate behavior within his courthouse.
Later in November, the commission added that it was investigating his failure to cooperate with the investigation in that, over a period of four months, stating, “the judge did not respond to four letters of inquiry from the Commission concerning the complaint.”
Cunningham served as a justice in the Town of Stockton Court since 2013.
The Commission accepted a stipulation regarding his holding office and closed the probe.
In his resignation letter to Stockton Town Supervisor David Wilson, Cunningham wrote, “pursuant to our previous discussions, please accept this letter as my formal resignation as Stockton Town Justice. I did not arrive at this decision easily. When I first ran for election, I promised the residents of Stockton that I would keep the resident’s safe.”
“Based upon the changes in the bail reform law, I don’t believe I can keep that promise anymore.”
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