GUILFORD – A judge for the Town of Guilford and Village of Oxford courts has resigned and agreed to never seek or accept judicial office again following an investigation into allegations of poor demeanor by the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct closed its investigation into Joan M. Kline on June 20 after Kline accepted a stipulation that she would never seek judicial office again.

In January 2018, records show the commission requested Kline provide court records, including audio recordings, in the case Timothy Warneck v. Michael DeNinis and Vickey Kemmerer after a complaint alleged “...she was rude to defendants and engaged in an unauthorized ex parte conversation with the claimant...”

While Kline produced the paper records of the case, she did not produce the audio recordings. She then tendered her resignation to the Village of Oxford and Town of Guilford on February 22 and February 23, respectively, with her last day being March 31.