New York Judge Leticia Astacio has had a rough year stemming from an August 2016 conviction for driving under the influence. The judge was escorted in handcuffs after she was ordered to be held without bail until a hearing on her failure to appear. Astacio explained that she had been living in Thailand for the past month via a text to her attorney and that is why she was unable to attend a scheduled court appearance. The judge overseeing her case offered her 45 days in jail, 2 years of probation and 6 months on an ankle monitor for her probation violation in the 2016 drunk driving case. Astacio declined the offer and was taken to jail until a further hearing on the matter.
The judge was arrested February 13, 2016 when officers were dispatched to a single collision crash. She refused a breathalyzer test and was found guilty of the charges on August 22 of the same year. The sentence was to be discharged after one-year but, according to court records, she violated the conditions of her probation including abstaining from alcohol and not driving under the influence. Her probation was extended until February 2018. The judge has appeared numerous times as a result of this case including issues regarding her use and maintenance of the required ignition interlock device, allegedly consuming alcohol in violation of the terms of her probation.
Astacio still receives her paycheck of $173,700 as an elected judge but has been prohibited from presiding over cases since her drunk driving conviction. Her supervising judges have made it clear that the besieged judge will be conducting research in the law library once released from jail. The judge presiding over her case is frustrated by her actions noting the appearance of a contemptuous attitude.