What happened to Justice Hickman?
He lost his bid to continue to sit on the bench. Maddox had posted the amount of the money damages with the Westchester County Supreme Court to serve as an appeals bond. Hickman who presided over cases in Putnam County was assigned to hear the defamation case in Dutchess County after all of the Dutchess County judges refused to hear the case. Justice Hickman went to South Africa to visit his wife’s settlement. Under apartheid, she was privileged. In the interim, Maddox posted the amount of the appeals bond in escrow with a stipulation that Hickman could not summarily dispense the money to Pagones. He did upon his return to the United States and Maddox filed a complaint against him with the state Commission on Judicial Conduct which has the power to remove judges. Afterwards, Justice Hickman was removed from the bench. No lawyer or judge can violate an escrow agreement.
