Judge James Peck Charged with Slapping His Wife

A federal judge charged with slapping his wife hired a big shot defense attorney as he faces a misdemeanor charge that could land him in the clink.

James Peck, 63, the bankruptcy judge overseeing the breakup of Lehman Brothers, hired Barry Bohrer, a prominent criminal defense lawyer whose clients have included Sam Israel, the hedge fund swindler who went on the lam last summer after faking his own suicide to avoid a 20-year jail term.

Peck, who was briefly assigned to handle the Bernard Madoff bankruptcy until he recused himself in December, told cops when they came to his Park Ave. apartment Saturday afternoon that "I was defending myself."

He said his wife, Judith Peck, 64, was late in returning to the city from their home in the Hamptons and then they argued over a ladder that she had put in his closet.

"I was moving the ladder out. She slapped me in the face," he told cops. "I put the ladder down and slapped her back. We slapped each other back and forth."

Then Judith Peck locked herself in a room and called 911. Police said she had "substantial pain" in the area of her jaw and was treated at New York-Presbyterian Hospital.

The judge was charged with attempted assault in the third degree, a B misdemeanor that carries a jail term of up to 90 days, and harassment, which is a violation.

"We've been married 42 years. We love each other very much. I've never hit her before. This was not about tonight. It was about complications beginning in October," Peck told a cop, without elaborating, according to court papers.

Criminal Court Judge Lenora Gerald released Peck without bail and told him that he could return to his home as long as he did not assault, stalk, harass, menace, intimidate or threaten his wife.