By Daniel Wiessner

ALBANY, N.Y., Dec 14 (Reuters) - An upstate town justice accused of presiding over cases while under the influence of alcohol and attempting to use her position to avoid a hit-and-run ticket has resigned from the bench, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct said.

Heather Knott, the former justice in Hague, Warren County, stepped down on Nov. 1, the commission said on Friday. Knott, who is an attorney, also allegedly appeared in Family Court under the influence numerous times while representing a 7-year-old child.

Knott's attorney, John Turi, did not return requests for comment.

The commission on Friday also announced the resignation of Gary Anderson, the former justice in Bainbridge, Chenango County. Anderson, who is not an attorney, was accused of a range of misconduct, including failing to advise a defendant of his right to counsel, inappropriately questioning defendants at arraignment and enraging in ex parte communications in three cases. He stepped down on Nov. 30, the commission said.

Anderson did not return a call seeking comment.

Knott and Anderson have agreed not to seek judicial office in the future, according to the commission.

Both "failed to act in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary," the panel said in separate September complaints against each judge.

Robert Tembeckjian, the conduct commission's chief administrator and counsel, said on Friday that the two judges had not denied or admitted to the charges.

Hague is a town of less than 900 near the northwestern tip of Lake George. Bainbridge is a rural town of 3,300 about 80 miles southeast of Syracuse.

According to the commission, Knott was censured in 1999 for allegedly presiding over cases after drinking. At the time, she told the panel that she had stopped drinking after being diagnosed with alcoholic hepatitis. In the report released Friday, the commission said Knott continued to appear in court -- both as a judge and a lawyer -- while under the influence.

The commission also said that in 2008, Knott hit a parked car and fled the scene. When police confronted her about the incident, she "said that she was a lawyer and a judge, invoked the concept of 'clemency' ... and said she would speak to the district attorney." She ultimately pleaded guilty to failing to report an accident and paid a fine, the commission said.

Knott had been a town justice in Hague since 1994, and Anderson had been on the bench in Bainbridge since 2008.

In separate October resignation letters provided by the commission, Knott and Anderson did not explain their reasons for stepping down.

 Follow us on Twitter @ReutersLegal | Like us on Facebook