BROOKLYN — A Brooklyn supreme court judge who presided over cases involving her clerk will step down at the end of the year for an apparent conflict of interest, officials said.
Justice Yvonne Lewis, who became a judge in 1987, hired Kimberly Detherage to clerk for her while she was still involved in cases before other judges, according to an investigation by the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct.
She also presided over cases in which Detherage was a guardian.
"Once she went to work for the judge, the judge, in our view, was obliged not to participate in those matters further," said commission administrator Robert Tembeckjian.
Lewis' resignation effectively ended the investigation before officials could determine whether she actually violated any conflict of interest rules, Tembeckjian said.
Before clerking, judges in several cases had assigned Detherage to be a guardian, someone who is authorized to care for someone else or their money, officials said.
She was still working on those cases even after Lewis hired her in 2009, officials said.
"Once [Lewis] employed Miss Dethrerage as her law clerk, she was, in our view, obliged to disqualify herself from any matters in the court system involving Miss Dethrerage as a guardian," Tembeckjian said.
Lewis also failed to adequately oversee Detherage and her work, officials said.
The commission launched the investigation in 2013, in part, because of news reports about Lewis' misconduct, officials said.
Lewis, who became a Brooklyn supreme court judge in 1991, will give up her office on Dec. 31 and can never hold a judicial position again, officials said.
Lewis said that she was vacating her post not because she agreed with the commission's findings, but because she had planned to retire soon anyway.
"Her resignation is not a consequence of the pending charges," said her lawyer, Deborah Scalise.
"Rather it is in keeping with Justice Lewis' retirement plans, which she contemplated more than two years ago," Scalise added.
Lewis looks forward to taking part in activities with the bar and judicial associations, she said through her lawyer.
Lewis' departure from the bench comes about a year after judge Barry Kamins resigned amid an inquiry into whether he discussed cases before him and engaged in improper political activity with then-Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes.
As many as seven judges statewide resign from their post amid investigations each year, according to Tembeckjian.
