New York Judge Who Threatened to “Shoot” Black Teens Somehow Still a Judge

In July 2022, a high school graduation party in upstate New York turned into a melee. Police officers arrived on the scene after receiving reports of multiple fights. Then, a partygoer walked right up to the cops and introduced herself. “I’m Erin Gall,” she said. “I’m a Supreme Court judge.” 

Gall, an elected Republican trial court judge in Oneida County, went on to invoke her judicial office more than a dozen times over the next 80 minutes in efforts to get the police to do as she directed. She pressured the officers to arrest four Black teenagers, saying she “might have to call the chief of police” if the cops didn’t comply. She insulted the Black kids’ intelligence, saying that they “don’t look like they’re that smart” and were “not going to business school, that’s for sure.” She mocked them by using stereotypically Black speech patterns, saying, “That’s how Mrs. G rolls. That’s how Judge Gall rolls.” 

She also threatened to shoot the teens, claiming that she was allowed to do so to trespassers. “I’ll shoot them on the property,” Gall said. (It is important to note here that the property was not even hers.)

The cops, who I assume are the most self-aware police officers in the tri-state area, resisted Gall’s directives. “This isn’t Texas. You can’t shoot somebody for simply going on your property,” one told Gall. “Do you hear what you’re saying? You’re all white, privileged people with high-powered jobs.” Another cautioned that if cops followed her instructions, they could end up in court for violating the Black teens’ civil rights. Gall responded by reassuring them that in her courtroom, they wouldn’t have a problem. “The good part is I’m always on your side,” she said. “You know I’d take anyone down for you guys. You know that.”

And then, after all that, Gall went back to work as a judge. Only this month—a full two years after the incident—did the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct, a state agency that investigates allegations of judicial misconduct, suspend Gall (with pay) and recommend that the New York Court of Appeals remove her from the bench. Gall now has 30 days to request that the court review the determination. If she does so, she’ll remain suspended during that appeal; otherwise, the appellate court will move ahead with the removal.

Gall’s unfitness for office, evidenced at that party two years ago, did not present a meaningful obstacle to her continued employment as judge earning $230,000 per year. She wasn’t served with a formal written complaint until May 2023, and oral argument wasn’t held until June 2024. The fact that Gall has been empowered to make decisions affecting the lives of Black New Yorkers for years after an incident the Commission characterized as a “racially offensive, profane, prolonged public diatribe” is an indictment of the legal system’s ability to ensure that judges serve the public with fairness, and to mete out discipline when they fail to do so.

The Commission determined that by going on a racist rant for an hour and a half in front of a bunch of teenagers, Gall “forfeited her ability to be and to appear to be impartial, particularly as it relates to race and law enforcement personnel.” Yet she has had hundreds of items on her docket since July 2022, including multiple cases that require Gall to assess the credibility of cops, whose side she says she is “always on.” As for any Black litigants, she’s apparently been biased against them, too. And Gall would still be hearing cases without any semblance of impartiality right now if not for the extremeness of her outburst.

“Black litigants, attorneys, court staff and others who enter a New York state courtroom are entitled to equal justice,” wrote Commission member Nina Moore in a concurring opinion. “Judge Erin Gall should not sit on the bench with Black litigants left to cross their fingers and hope for the best.” For now, Black people entering New York courthouses can breathe a little easier knowing they won’t be before Judge Gall. But the legal system failed Black people by having Gall on the bench in the first place.