Judge Admonished for Dodging Trash Fines

The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct issued an official admonition to Justice Katherine Levine on Monday. The panel found that she used her position as a Supreme Court judge to evade hearings and delay payment of city sanitation fines.

Levine spent nearly two years in a dispute with the Office of Administrative Trials and Hearings, or OATH, over three minor violations. The original penalty was $50, but the total balance grew to $650 after she failed to appear for scheduled hearings.

The commission stated that her repeated references to her title created an appearance of seeking special treatment. Administrator Robert Tembeckjian noted that invoking judicial office to avoid a fine undermines public confidence in the judiciary.

The trouble began in March 2024 when sanitation workers found a large accumulation of napkins, papers, and egg cartons in the driveway of her Borough Park home. She has lived at the property since 1996.

Levine initially filed an online submission 10 days later claiming innocence. She wrote that she was a Supreme Court Justice in Kings County and had gone to work at 10 a.m. OATH found her guilty, but she did not pay the fine.

The following spring, she received two additional fines for leaving trash receptacles without lids. She did not respond to those tickets until October 2025.

In a voicemail left for the administrative court, she identified herself as Judge Katherine Levine and stated that she had trials every day in Supreme Court. She argued that she could not sit for a full day at OATH for a hearing.

Levine sent an email from her official judicial address demanding to settle the $650 balance. She claimed that she vacated default judgments all the time in the name of equity and justice. OATH responded that it does not do settlements and that she must follow its rules like everyone else.

Levine demanded to speak with a supervisor and closed her email with the message, "HOW DO I PAY IT AND HOW MUCH IS IT." The investigation found that she invoked her judicial status on at least eight separate occasions.

Levine has served on the bench since 2008 and previously had a clean disciplinary record. The commission noted that she openly expressed remorse and embarrassment for her conduct.

Her attorney, David Godosky, said Levine regrets referencing her position while dealing with a frustrating issue. He described her as candid and cooperative during the process.

OATH records show that the fines were eventually paid. The commission's release confirmed that she accepted responsibility by agreeing that an admonition was appropriate.