The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct decided that Curtis should be censured after it found that, in May, 2008, he unlawfully issued two orders of protection against Arnold Montgomery at a time when there was no criminal action pending against him.

Shortly before those orders were due to expire, Curtis issued to additional orders of protection without any legal basis.

Curtis' "abuse of judicial authority....was inconsistent with the requirements of the Criminal Procedure Law and overstepped the boundaries of his judicial role, conveying the appearance that he was acting as a law enforcement officer, not as judge," the Commission said in its determination, released Wednesday.

As a result of these orders, Arnold was taken into custody, had to hire an attorney, and had criminal charges pending against him for over a year until they were dismissed, the Commission noted.

It said, as a judge for almost two decades, Judge Curtis should have realized that he lacked the authority to issue all the orders of protection. Curtis has served as Lyme Town Justice since 1991.

The The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct reviews complaints against judges and decides the level of disciplinary action, if any, that should be taken against them. It may determine that a judge be publicly admonished or censured, removed from office or, in a case of disability, retired.

According the commission, its decision to censure Curtis was shaped by the facts that he had been cooperative with the commission throughout its inquiry, that he had no previous disciplinary record, and that he promised to follow the rules in the future.