A The lenient Bronx judge is reportedly being removed from criminal cases amid intense criticism.

Supreme Court Justice Naita Semaj will be transferred to civil cases starting April 24, sources told the New York Post. The Commission on Judicial Conduct opened an investigation into the judge last year after she angrily fired a veteran supervisor from the Bronx district attorney’s office. Since then, the office has documented other hostile or neglectful behavior. Most notably, Semaj released an alleged child killer without bail, prompting Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-NY) to step in and put him behind bars.

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Despite the investigation and mounting criticism, the Bronx judge asked for a promotion. She had applied to become the chief justice of the Appellate Division, First Department, one of the most prestigious positions in the New York court system, according to the outlet. The incumbents oversee all contested criminal and civil cases in the Bronx.

Sources told the New York Post that she was scheduled to interview for the job at 10:30 a.m. Friday, but did not show up. On the same day, sources informed the channel that she was instead being demoted and transferred from all criminal cases.

Public outcry over Semaj’s behavior reached a boiling point in early April. The judge released Tyresse Minter, the stepfather of 15-year-old Corde Scott. Minter was charged with strangling Scott to death and was released without bail. The boy’s mother, Karen Glenn, led the cry. Glenn welcomed the news that Semaj would be removed from all criminal cases.

“I’m glad to hear that Judge Naita Semaj will no longer be hearing criminal cases,” Glenn told the New York Post. “I believe in the justice system, and now families and victims can be treated with dignity.”

“It’s not the first time he’s done bad things, like in the case of my son,” he added.

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Semaj had also come under fire for publicly berating a grieving Glenn in the courtroom when he appeared late at Minter’s trial.

The judge was elected to a 14-year term as a state Supreme Court justice in November 2021.

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