 |
| Nome Superior Court Judge Timothy Dooley |
Dooley was censured — essentially a public statement of wrongdoing — by
the Alaska Supreme Court in the decision, the culmination of an ethics
complaint and subsequent recommendation from the Alaska Commission on
Judicial Conduct.
The Alaska Supreme Court accepted the commission's findings, made in its recommendation in December,
that Dooley's statements in open court were negligent, "undignified and
discourteous" and "suggest bias or prejudice." The actions harmed the
public's perception of the court system, it wrote in the decision.
Dooley and the commission agreed in December that the comments were
inappropriate and that he had violated the Alaska Code of Judicial
Conduct.
The comments that led to the complaint against him began several weeks
after his appointment by then-Gov. Sean Parnell. The first one occurred
on May 29, 2013. During a sentencing, Dooley asked a defendant, "Has
anything good ever come out of drinking, except for sex with a pretty
girl?"
A total of five comments
were subject to the ethics complaint. In December, Dooley apologized
for each comment during the disciplinary hearing. He wrote in a
statement to the commission that his May 29 comment "was wrong for me to
say especially in view of the fact that sex offenders were present in
the gallery."
In December, Dooley spoke of the challenges in transitioning from
private practice as an attorney to a judgeship. Dooley said he has "quit
going off script," that he regretted causing trouble for the "wonderful
people" at the Nome court, and that "my poor wife did a lot of crying
at night and I caused her an amazing amount of stress."
During the December hearing, Dooley's attorney Bill Satterberg argued
that the court system was partly to blame, having not provided adequate
training or support staff for the new Superior Court judge.
The Alaska Supreme Court, however, said Dooley was responsible for his own statements.
"Contrary to the arguments … Judge Dooley is not the victim in this disciplinary matter," the court wrote.
Efforts to reach Dooley for comment were unsuccessful Monday, and Satterberg declined to speak about the ruling.
During the December disciplinary hearing, the Alaska Commission on
Judicial Conduct recommended that Dooley be publicly censured and
receive a year's worth of mentoring and additional sensitivity training.
Dooley is retiring in February 2017, so the recommendations for training were not ordered by the Alaska Supreme Court.
Public censure is the least severe form of public discipline the
commission can recommend, judicial commission Executive Director Marla
Greenstein said at the time.
Removal from office is the most severe discipline, and only one judge —
Dennis Cummings of Bethel — has faced such a recommendation, Greenstein
said. Cummings ultimately retired before the Supreme Court heard the
case, though the court still ruled to remove Cummings even after his
retirement.
Full Article & Source:
Nome judge disciplined for 'undignified and discourteous' comments in court
