Manhattan Judge Resigns After Pornography Found On Court Computer

Disgraced Manhattan judge James Gibbons, an ex-prosecutor, has resigned after court officials found a large amount of pornography on his work computer. Gibbons earlier had attracted controversy over fathering a son with a young Legal Aid lawyer.

Criminal charges are being explored, but I am unsure of the basis. The pornography is described as involving young women not child pornography. Defense counsel have often objected that, in such cases of work-computer caches of porn, there is a danger that large downloads of porn will include a couple of unlawful images. It then becomes a fight over the knowledge of the individual in downloading the material.

Gibbons, 47, was criticized for having a child a few weeks ago with Legal Aid lawyer Jeanne Emhoff, 31. He was on paternity leave when the computer was inspected. Gibbons issued a brief statement that “It has been a privilege to serve as a judge of the Criminal Court of the City of New York. Please accept this letter as a statement of my resignation of that office effective today.”

Source: New York Daily News