Lewis County General Sessions Court Judge Michael Hinson
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A Lewis County judge has been suspended for 30
days by the Tennessee Board of Judicial Conduct after an ethics
complaint was filed against him.
The Board of Judicial Conduct
issued the order calling for Judge Michael E. Hinson, the general
sessions judge in Lewis County, to serve the suspension beginning Oct. 2
through Oct. 31.
Hinson heard an order of protection matter in which a wife was
seeking an order of protection against her husband on June 4, 2021. Both
parties and their attorneys were present in court. At the conclusion of
the hearing, Hinson ruled there was insufficient evidence to issue the
order and the filings would be addressed by the court handling their
divorce. In a reference to the parties’ divorce and child custody
related issues, Hinson stated that “Judge (Michael E.) Spitzer would
wade through the bulls**t,” with multiple people present in the court
room.
In another case on June 4, 2021, docket, Hinson stated to
the parties that they were putting their child custody dispute “in the
hands of a guy who wears a costume” to work, a reference to his judicial
robe. Multiple people in the courtroom heard this comment as well.
In a notice dated June 24, 2021, Hinson was advised of the investigation into the complaint.
In a response dated July 9, 2021, Hinson acknowledged making the
comments. He explained that he did not intend to make the comments “in a
derogatory manner,” but rather as a way of encouraging the parties to
resolve their differences without judicial intervention in order to
achieve the best outcome for themselves and their children.
The
Board of Judicial Conduct said in its ruling that, “judges are expected
to maintain the highest standards of conduct and dignity of judicial
office at all times.” It also said that while Hinson “may not have
intended to be disrespectful or demeaning to any litigant or to the
legal process, those who heard his comments have no way of determining
his intent apart from the words used. Once such comments are made, the
damage is done.
“In short, as the occupant of an honored position
of public trust, a judge’s role includes cultivating respect for the
judicial process and its participants in both words and deeds. The
comments at issue did just the opposite.”
Tuesday’s ruling is the second time in the past year Hinson has been disciplined by the Board of Judicial Conduct.
Hinson
was issued a reprimand by the board in December for not following
COVID-19 plans for his judicial district. According to the reprimand,
Hinson allowed his courtroom to be filled to capacity, even to the point
of members of the public having to stand shoulder to shoulder along the
walls because all the seats are taken. Hinson also made a comment to
the courtroom audience that he wished Justice Jeff Bivins would win an
award so that the COVID-19 mandate from the Tennessee Supreme Court
would end.
Jacqie Spradling, left, arrives for a disciplinary hearing Dec. 7, 2021,
in Topeka. A new complaint alleges former Shawnee County District
Attorney Chad Taylor shares responsibility for her mistakes. (Sherman
Smith/Kansas Reflector)
TOPEKA — Former Shawnee County
District Attorney Chad Taylor faces an ethics complaint for
prosecutorial misconduct by his assistant during the 2012 murder trial
of Dana Chandler.
The complaint filed Wednesday by Alma attorney Keen Umbehr is based on a panel’s conclusion that Jacqie Spradling should be disbarred
for a deliberate pattern of misconduct, including false statements she
made to the jury in the Chandler trial and unrelated case in Jackson
County. As Spradling’s supervisor, Umbehr argues, Taylor was responsible
for her misconduct and failed to intervene.
“Taylor violated his duties to the citizens of Shawnee County, to the
legal system, to the legal profession, and to the public at large, and
he did so knowingly and intentionally,” Umbehr said.
Taylor, whose law office is based in Silver Lake, currently works as
the assistant county attorney in Bourbon County, according to the
complaint. Spradling resigned as the Bourbon County attorney in June after a disciplinary panel determined she should be disbarred.
The complaint says former Shawnee County District Attorney Robert
Hecht refused to bring charges against Chandler in the July 2002
double-murder of her ex-husband, Mike Sisco, and his fiancee, Karen
Harkness, in their Topeka home. Shortly after Taylor took office in
January 2009, he orchestrated interviews between Topeka police Det.
Richard Volle and producers of CBS’ “48 Hours.”
Later in 2009, CBS aired an episode about the unsolved murders and
identified Chandler as the main suspect. In 2011, Taylor brought a film
crew and news reporters with him to arrest Chandler in Duncan, Oklahoma.
Spradling repeatedly made references during the 2012 trial to a
nonexistent protection from abuse order Sisco had obtained against
Chandler. She asked Volle about the order during the trial, talked about
it in closing arguments, and referenced it in briefs she filed when the
case was appealed.
Spradling also fabricated the subject of a five-minute phone call
between Chandler and Sisco shortly before the murders, talked about
Chandler’s supposed escape route through Nebraska, and claimed Chandler
had researched articles on how to get away with murder. There was no
evidence to support any of those arguments.
In closing remarks before the jury, Spradling violated a judge’s
order by pointing to Chandler’s sister in the courtroom. The prosecutor
also said Chandler had robbed Sisco’s children of their father, despite
knowing it is improper for a prosecutor to comment on the impact a crime
has on a victim’s family.
The Kansas Supreme Court in 2018 overturned Chandler’s convictions on the basis of prosecutorial misconduct.
Umbehr, who has advocated for Chandler throughout her appeal, also
filed the disciplinary complaint against Spradling. The Office of the
Disciplinary Administrator initially determined Spradling did nothing wrong, then reopened the complaint following the Kansas Supreme Court decision.
Spradling conceded mistakes during her disciplinary hearing in December.
Umbehr said Taylor allowed Spradling’s misconduct to go unchecked because he had a “win at all cost” attitude.
“Such abuse cannot be tolerated in Shawnee County,” Umbehr said.
“But the sad fact is that it is tolerated because not a single Shawnee
County District Court judge has spoken out or condemned the
prosecutorial misconduct occurring in their courtrooms.”
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WZTV) — Former Nashville Judge Casey Moreland received a 44-month prison sentence Friday.
Moreland pleaded guilty
to five counts of relating to obstruction of justice, witness
tampering, and stealing money from an organization receiving federal
funds in late May.
According to Acting Assistant Attorney General
John Cochran, the FBI began investigating back in Jan. 2017 whether or
not Moreland offered sexual favors for favorable treatment as a General
Sessions Judge.
Moreland later admitted that he actively took steps to obstruct the
investigation in Feb. 2017 by paying a witness to sign a false affidavit
to recant her previous statements. The Department of Justice also said
Moreland planted drugs in the witness's car so she would be arrested and
her credibility would be destroyed.
He used a burned phone
registered to Raul Rodriguez to carry out these plans, working with
someone who would become in an information for the FBI.
Back in
March, Moreland faced more charges of tampering with a witness, victim,
or informant and destruction, alteration, or falsification of records in
a Federal investigation.
Moreland resigned in March 2017 amid an FBI investigation charging him with public corruption.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Former Davidson County General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland is a convicted felon.
He pleaded guilty in federal court to five felony counts.
Moreland did not want to take his case to trial which was scheduled for next month.
He stood in front of a judge and admitted to crimes that will send him to prison for years.
Moreland came into the courtroom looking older than his sixty years.
He wore a green jail outfit and had a full gray beard.
He
spoke softly as he admitted to obstruction of justice, witness
tampering, stealing money from an organization that receives federal
funds, destroying documents and conspiracy to retaliate against a
witness.
U. S. Attorney Don Cochran said after the guilty plea that Moreland's behavior violated the public's trust.
"He was sworn to uphold the law instead of doing that he violated the oath and dishonored the robe he wore," Cochran said.
Prosecutors initially charged Moreland with ten criminal counts but he pleaded guilty to five.
One charge stemmed from undercover video taken by an FBI informant inside Moreland's home last year.
It captured Moreland talking about planting drugs on his former mistress in an attempt to discredit her.
Moreland's defense attorney Peter Strianse said with the evidence against Moreland it was the right decision not to go to trial.
Moreland also pleaded guilty to stealing cash from the Drug Court Foundation which he helped start.
Nan
Casey who worked along side Moreland has already pleaded guilty in the
case and provided undercover audio of Moreland talking about taking cash
from self paying clients at Drug Court.
Federal sentencing guidelines suggest Moreland could get up to four years in prison, but his attorney will argue for less.
He says Moreland has been kept in solitary confinement for his protection and his time in jail has taken a toll.
"Make no mistake Judge Moreland has felt the full force of this prosecution," Strianse said.
Prosecutors say they will push for a tough sentence, but it will be up to U.S. District Judge Waverly Crenshaw.
A number of recent high-profile ethics complaints has focused new
attention on New Jersey's judiciary. (Patti Sapone | NJ Advance Media
file photo)
What do you call someone who tells a rape victim to keep her legs
closed, has a secretary do her son's homework, or in one case, allegedly
hampered a police investigation of a boyfriend?
In New Jersey, you call them judges.
The number of grievances filed against judges has been growing,
according to an examination by NJ Advance Media of never-before-released
data from the state judiciary. And while the vast number of those
grievances do not become formal complaints, several recent high-profile
disciplinary cases have put a spotlight on judicial misconduct in
courtrooms across New Jersey.
They include the ethics case against John F. Russo Jr.,
a family court judge in Ocean County, who told an alleged rape
victim that she could have possibly avoided the situation if she "closed
her legs," according to a complaint filed against him by the New Jersey
Supreme Court's Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, or ACJC.
While his case is still pending, Russo--the son of former Democratic
Senate President John Russo Sr.--is currently on administrative leave
after he was removed from his judicial duties last year by Ocean
County's assignment judge in connection with other unrelated
allegations.
Wilfredo Benitez, a municipal judge in East Orange and Belleville, is
accused of violating the state's Code of Judicial Conduct in the wake
of an incident where he was found by State Troopers passed
out in the driver's seat of his silver BMW on the side of Interstate
80, and subsequently struggled with a field sobriety test.
"I can't believe you're doing this. I'm not a f---ing drug addict. I'm
not drunk," he told the troopers, according to the complaint lodged
against him. "I'm a f---ing judge. You're not going to give me any
courtesy?"
Ethics charges before the ACJC are also pending against Superior
Court Judge Deborah Gross-Quatrone who was accused of ordering her
secretary to do her son's homework.
She was also accused of making a law clerk work off-the-clock without
pay, and secretly taping conversations with other judges when her
behavior came under scrutiny, according to the complaint.
And Superior Court Judge Carlia M. Brady in Middlesex County is facing ethics allegations that she hindered the efforts of Woodbridge police to
arrest her boyfriend on a robbery charge. In a complaint against Brady
earlier this month, the ACJC said she "demonstrated an inability to
conform her conduct to the high standards of conduct expected of judges
and impugned the integrity of the Judiciary."
Overall, five formal complaints have been filed so far this year
against four Superior Court judges and one municipal court judge, up
from four the previous year. But the number of grievances complaining of
judicial behavior or violations of the Code of Judicial Conduct has climbed over the last three years, to 408 last year, up from 378 in 2015.
Those filings rise and fall year by year, but the trend over the past
decade has seen a steady increase. According to the New Jersey Courts
data provided to NJ Advance Media, 276 grievances have been filed in
first eight months of the current judicial year, which runs from July to
July.
Attorney Nancy Erika Smith, who represented Gretchen Carlson in her
suit against Fox News co-founder Roger Ailes, argued that there have
been an increasing number of judges, most appointed in recent years, who
simply do not know the law.
"There is a lot of grumbling among lawyers about judges who don't
know anything about trying cases. About their having no experience in
trying cases," she said of recent appointments to the bench.
She placed the blame for that on the Christie administration's
decision to end a long-standing process of using county committees of
the New Jersey State Bar Association to scrutinize judicial
appointments.
"Chris Christie disbanded the most effective method of vetting
judges," charged Smith, who served for many years on the Bar
Association's county committee in Essex and co-chaired the Bar
Association's state committee for one year.
"By disbanding the county committees, he made sure none of his
appointees would be vetted by those who would most familiar with their
experience as attorneys," she said.
While Smith said there have been "wonderfully qualified people" named
as judges, she added that there have been others who were "promoted out
of positions they were failing at," or nominated by Christie as a
political favor.
All seven of the Superior Court judges brought up on ethics charges since 2016 were Christie nominations, records show.
Former Christie administration officials took strong issue with any
notion that the judges he nominated were lacking in qualifications.
In a statement issued through a spokesman for the former governor,
Jeffrey Chiesa, Christopher Porrino and Thomas Scrivo, who all served as
chief counsel to the governor, said that "as the lawyers who oversaw
the vast majority of these judicial appointments, we endorse and remain
extraordinarily proud of the judicial appointments made during our
tenures, and we reject any sweeping generalization that demeans these
fine jurists based upon the alleged mistakes or misconduct of a few."
In their statement, the three said that from January 2010 through
January 2018, "Gov. Christie nominated, and the legislature confirmed,
hundreds of judges, after each judicial candidate was carefully vetted
by the state senator who sponsored him or her," as well as the state Bar
Association, the Judicial Advisory Panel and the Governor's
Appointments Office.
"It is offensive and irresponsible for anyone to suggest that these
highly qualified and hard-working public servants are somehow less
qualified than the judges who were appointed prior to 2010," they wrote.
Under the Hughes Compact, named for former New Jersey Gov. Richard
Hughes, the state's governors have historically agreed to withhold
nominations of judges, justices and prosecutors until the bar
association's Judicial and Prosecutorial Appointments Committee deemed
them qualified.
But Smith said Christie revised the compact, limiting the input of the county bar committees.
Gov. Phil Murphy earlier this year signed a new compact, bringing the
county bar associations back into the the process, New Jersey State Bar
Association officials said.
The 'meanness of our time...'
Former New Jersey Attorney General John Farmer Jr., who served on the
Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, said there may be many
contributing factors to the rise in grievances.
"Late in my tenure on the committee, we started seeing complaints
based on judges' social media activity, which raised issues such as
whether if a judge 'friended' someone on Facebook, that 'friendship'
should have required recusal," remarked Farmer, who has also served as
the dean of the Rutgers University School of Law. "Advancing technology,
in other words, has increased the opportunities for potential
misconduct to occur, and has also lowered the wall of relative social
isolation behind which judges have traditionally functioned."
He noted, too, there are more judges in New Jersey.
"With that expanded pool, again, has come an increased likelihood that misconduct can occur," he said.
More difficult to quantify, Farmer suggested, is that the numbers may
reflect the "meanness of our time", in which honest disagreements are
more likely to become personal and adverse rulings are more likely to be
ascribed to bias or misconduct than to the simple fact that a judge
disagrees with a party's position.
"Having said all of that, it was true during my tenure and I assume
it remains true that the vast majority of complaints filed against
judges are investigated and dismissed," Farmer said. "This state has a
deserved reputation for the high quality and ethical standards of its
judiciary, particularly by comparison with states like Pennsylvania,
where In years gone by Supreme Court Justices, as well as dozens of
sitting judges, have been prosecuted for various forms of corruption."
Beyond the vetting issue raised by Smith, the attorney said another
reason for the overall increase in the number of complaints may also
stem from unhappy litigants in divorce and child custody cases.
"I know a lot of the complaints are in family court. There is a
father's movement and one of their goals is to attack judges," she
remarked.
Judge Glenn A. Grant, acting administrative director of the courts,
said in a statement that as an organization, the judiciary "holds all
judges to the highest of standards" and communicates those standards
through regular training.
"The judiciary's commitment to judicial ethics is reflected in the
work of the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, which consists of
retired judges, attorneys and laypersons who investigate allegations of
unethical conduct. If the committee finds probable cause for the
imposition of public discipline against a judge, it issues a formal
complaint and all further proceedings are made public," he said.
Grant said while the number of complaints against judges fluctuates
on a yearly basis, "the statistics continue to show that the vast
majority of judges are hardworking and dedicated and conscientious about
complying with judicial canons and procedures."
Discipline of judges in New Jersey can take various forms.
If the ACJC investigates a complaint and believes that the judge has
violated the Judicial Code of Conduct, it may choose to discipline the
judge privately. Or the committee, which is headed by retired Justice
Virginia A. Long, can recommend that the Supreme Court issue public
discipline against the judge, ranging from admonition to censure,
suspension, or removing the judge from the bench.
Only the New Jersey Supreme Court may publicly discipline a judge.
A federal grand jury in Tennessee has returned a superseding
indictment against a former Nashville judge on obstruction charges
stemming from an alleged scheme to embezzle cash from a nonprofit drug
treatment facility, the Department of Justice said.
Cason “Casey” Moreland, 60, was originally indicted in April 2017 on five counts of obstruction of justice.
The
superseding indictment returned Wednesday adds five new counts,
including two additional obstruction of justice counts, including
witness tampering and destruction of documents, two counts related to
theft from a program receiving federal funds and one one count of
committing an offense while on pretrial release.
Mr. Moreland was a
judge for the General Sessions Court of Metropolitan Nashville and
Davidson County. He heard civil, criminal and traffic cases as well as
presided over the General Sessions Drug Treatment Court, a specialized
court designed to provide alternatives to incarceration for low-level
defendants.
The Drug Treatment Court is supported by the nonprofit
Davidson County Drug Court Foundation. Prosecutors allege Mr. Moreland
began embezzling cash from the foundation in the spring of 2016. Mr.
Moreland is alleged to have directed to the Drug Court Foundation’s
director to deliver envelopes with the organization’s cash to him in
exchange for allowing the director her compensation according to court
documents.
The superseding indictment alleges that after learning of the
investigation, Mr. Moreland took steps to interfere with the
investigation. He is accused of ordering the Drug Court Foundation’s
director to destroy documents that would show the amount of cash that
had been paid to the Foundation and ultimately stolen by Moreland.
He
is also alleged to have attempted to tamper with a witness by
suggesting that she lie to the grand jury investigating his conduct,
according to court documents.
This case
was investigated by the FBI and is being prosecuted by trial attorneys
Lauren Bell and Andrew Laing of the Department of Justice Criminal
Division’s Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecil
VanDevender of the Middle District of Tennessee.
Former Nashville judge Casey Moreland
will stay in jail while he awaits a trial on obstruction of justice
charges, a federal judge said Tuesday.
The
decision came days after authorities accused Moreland of making a
second attempt to throttle their ongoing corruption investigation.
Moreland was first charged with interfering in that
investigation last March, when investigators say he bribed a woman who
had made allegations against him.
His trial was set
for June 2018, but he was allowed to stay at home in the meantime,
wearing an ankle monitor. The terms of his release forbid him from
talking to any potential witnesses in the case against him.
Then,
on Thursday, the FBI released a stunning new criminal complaint that
included new allegations that Moreland had tampered with a witness as
recently as Feb. 13.
The
complaint said he worked with a woman, identified as "CS-1," to siphon
thousands of dollars away from the Davidson County Drug Court Foundation
over the course of years. After the FBI launched its investigation, the
complaint said, Moreland asked her to destroy evidence of the crime.
This
year, Moreland suggested ways the accomplice — who was working with the
FBI — could lie to a grand jury investigating the theft, according to
the complaint. Prosecutors worked with the woman to tape several
conversations with Moreland.
At a hearing on the
new charges, Moreland's defense attorney argued that U.S. Magistrate
Judge Joe Brown could allow Moreland to remain free on bail with
stricter rules
Assistant U.S. Attorney Cecil W. VanDevender balked.
"You only get so many chances to have the benefit of the doubt," he said.
Brown
ultimately sided with prosecutors, although he left the door open to
reconsider of Moreland's mental health deteriorates. Moreland's wife
testified that he had battled depression and had been forgetful in
recent months, possibly showing signs of Alzheimer's Disease.
"You
can always ask for a reconsideration," Brown said. "It still remains a
very close case, it's just that I came down on the other side this
time."
Moreland is being held in Grayson County
Detention Center in Kentucky. He came to court Tuesday in a teal
jumpsuit with his legs in shackles and his hands cuffed behind his back.
Moreland's
attorney Peter Strianse said Brown's decision was disappointing if
predictable. But he used Tuesday's hearing, which ran about three hours,
to lay out the framework of a legal theory against the theft
allegations in the latest criminal complaint.
Authorities say "CS-1" and Moreland pocketed thousands of dollars in payments from patients the foundation's treatment center.
Strianse said federal authorities do not have jurisdiction to prosecute theft from the foundation.
"That money is in no way federal money," Strianse said. "There is no federal ownership of that money."
VanDevender
argued the federal investigation was valid because of a U.S. law
against theft from an organization that receives federal funds. Federal
grants go to the foundation, he said.
At least one other Nashville judge is entangled in the criminal allegations against Casey Moreland and is likely to be a witness in the case, officials say.
General
Sessions Presiding Judge Gale Robinson saw an affidavit Moreland
fabricated in an attempt to undercut reports Moreland traded legal
favors for sex, according to federal prosecutors.
Robinson,
who took over for Moreland after he resigned in April, saw the phony
statement and discussed it with Moreland before Moreland was arrested on
obstruction and witness tampering charges, federal prosecutors said.
Prosecutors and Moreland's lawyers sparred in a brief Tuesday afternoon hearing during which Moreland sought to have a GPS monitor removed before his trial in June.
A federal judge denied the request, but the hearing
revealed new details about the ongoing probe circling the embattled
judge and his life after the bench.
Robinson, a fellow judge and longtime friend of Moreland's, has been interviewed by the FBI, said Peter Strianse,
Moreland's lawyer. It's unclear if Robinson alerted the FBI about the
affidavit or spoke with investigators for another reason.
Robinson wouldn't answer questions from The Tennessean about his role.
"I’m not going to comment on any federal investigation or that federal case," he said Tuesday.
The
person who gave the woman the affidavit, James Pedigo, wore a wire for
the FBI to record some of his interactions with the woman. Pedigo, a
semi-pro wrestler known as "The Beast," already pleaded guilty to his
role.
Even after Moreland's release from jail in March, he tried to meet with
Robinson by going to Robinson's family's funeral home, prosecutors say.
They say those actions showed Moreland flouted a condition of his
probation that he have no contact with potential witnesses.
The ex-judge was put on GPS monitoring and home
confinement in March shortly after his arrest. He was later allowed to
visit his dying mother out-of-state and attend her funeral.
But
even U.S. Magistrate Judge Joe Brown called the home confinement
liberal on Tuesday, after prosecutors said Moreland was able to leave
home for things like running errands.
And Moreland
was back to work as of about one week ago, said Strianse, who declined
to provide details about the ex-judge's employment except to say it's a
9-to-5 business job in Nashville.
If
convicted of each count, Moreland could face a maximum of 80 years in
prison and a fine of $1.25 million, prosecutors have said. However, it's
likely he would receive a shorter prison sentence as he has no criminal
history.
A
related public corruption investigation is ongoing, and it's unknown
when that will wrap up. Strianse argued that "phantom investigation"
makes it hard for Moreland to obey the condition that he not have
contact with potential witnesses.
"We're really hamstrung not knowing who the witnesses are," Strianse said.
Cecil
VanDevender, an assistant U.S. attorney, argued that, given Moreland's
former profession, the ex-jurist is well aware of the potential
witnesses in the case.
"The person in the best position to know who the witnesses are is Mr. Moreland," he argued in court.
WSMV Channel 4 NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - A complaint filed with the Board of Professional Responsibility about Judge Casey Moreland and attorney Bryan Lewis also included a mention of a 2010 solicitation of prostitution charge for an attorney who would go on to become a Williamson County judge.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) – A judge has granted Casey Moreland’s request to go out of state to see his elderly and ill mother who is in hospice care in Indiana.
According to the filing, Moreland, who remains under house arrest per the conditions of his release from custody, will visit with his mom at her Indiana home on Friday and Saturday of this week.
The document states he will leave with his wife and sister on Friday morning and return back to Nashville on Saturday.
While in Indiana, Moreland will stay at his mother’s home.
The former Nashville judge was indicted last Tuesday by a federal grand jury on five counts of obstruction of justice. He’s accused of taking steps to obstruct and interfere with an FBI investigation by devising a scheme to pay a material witness to take back her previous statements.
Moreland has since pleaded not guilty to those federal charges.
Goodsprings residents rallied Saturday in support of longtime judge Dawn Haviland, who is suspended with pay after state disciplinary investigators slapped her with a laundry list of ethics charges.
“Come out and show your support for our friend and neighbor who is fighting false and malicious charges before the Nevada Judicial Discipline Commission,” read fliers distributed ahead of the afternoon event.
The rally was held at Sandy Valley Ranch near Goodsprings. Attendees were offered free food, beer and wine. They were asked to bring a check to donate to Haviland’s defense fund.
Haviland has served as Goodsprings justice of the peace since 1999. She is accused of sweeping ethics violations that include sealing her then-son-in-law’s criminal records, ordering staff to run background checks on her friend’s boyfriend, and using vulgar language to bully employees.
Haviland, in a 14-page response to the charges, answered in detail to each allegation. She blames the charges on a disgruntled employee whose testimony is cited in the state judicial discipline commission’s formal statement of charges.
A disciplinary hearing is scheduled for August. Haviland faces anything from a private reprimand to removal from office, or the charges could be dismissed.
“I would say that Dawn Haviland is the most respected person in Sandy Valley,” said Haviland’s defense attorney, Al Marquis. “She has done so much for the community without ever having asked for anything in return.”
Marquis said Haviland was instrumental in getting a charter school in Sandy Valley so that students did not need to be bused to and from Las Vegas.
“People in the community just want to rally together … to show that they’re behind her,” Marquis said.
The defense lawyer said roughly 100 people responded that they plan to attend the event.
NASHVILLE, Tenn. - Undercover FBI video and audio recordings shed
light on the charges against Davidson County General Sessions Judge
Casey Moreland.
Federal prosecutors played the recordings in Moreland's preliminary hearing on Friday.
He is charged with obstruction of justice through bribery and witness tampering.
The
recordings show Moreland talking about planting drugs on his former
mistress and reveal his efforts to pay her in exchange for signing an
affidavit recanting parts of her story.
Moreland had no idea the man he was meeting in his home on March 16 was helping the FBI.
The
man had a video camera and told Moreland about a fictitious discussion
he had with a police officer who offered to plant drugs on Moreland's
former mistress, Natalie Amos.
Moreland asked, "What does he want?"
The informant responded,
"I don't know if he wants anything. He just... I think his thing is as
long as it don't come back to him. And I said "Don't worry about that.'"
Moreland asked, "Is he going to be the one to pull her over?"
The informant responded, "He'll be the one to pull her over. But he's just, his main thing is that it don't come back to me."
Judge Moreland then asked if the officer had a drug dog.
He also wanted to know where the officer worked.
"Who does he work for?" Moreland asked.
"He does something for the DEA and he works part time for another agency," the informant said.
Prosecutors emphasized there was never an officer who was going to plant drugs.
Toward
the end of their meeting, Moreland asked the informant if he still had
Amos' license plate number which Moreland had given him earlier.
The informant said, "I got it written down where nobody could see it. So yeah, I still got the tag number. So I got that."
Moreland said, "You ought to be able to find her with that."
The phone calls deal with Moreland trying to get Amos to sign an affidavit.
Through the same informant, Moreland offered her money if she would sign.
But the FBI pretended that Amos wanted to keep marking out parts of the affidavit.
"Tell her I have to have that," Moreland said on the phone.
The informant responded, "You gotta have that there was no sex in the office?"
"Right," Moreland answered.
Prosecutors say Moreland wound up paying $6,100 in exchange for Natalie Amos signing the affidavit.
They found the affidavit with Amos' fake signature in the possession of Moreland's attorney, Worrick Robinson.
"I
can't talk about the affidavit or anything surrounding the affidavit
other than what was discussed today in open court," Robinson said after
court Friday.
Moreland's other attorney, Peter Strianse, indicated the plan was to leak the affidavit to the media.
He claimed leaking a document to the media would not be obstruction of justice, which is a federal crime.
He said it may just be an example of poor judgment.
NASHVILLE — The federal government on Tuesday filed criminal charges against a Tennessee judge, alleging he tried to bribe a woman to recant her allegations against him.
General
Sessions Judge Casey Moreland, 59, was charged with attempting to
obstruct justice through bribery and witness tampering, Acting U.S.
Attorney for Middle Tennessee Jack Smith announced. Moreland was taken
into custody Tuesday morning and appeared in court Tuesday afternoon.
The
chains around Moreland's ankles, clanking on a tile floor, could be
heard even before he was led into the courtroom. U.S. Magistrate Judge
Joe Brown read the possible penalties Moreland is facing, including a
maximum 20-year prison term.
"Do you understand what you're charged with and the possible punishment?" Brown asked.
"Yes
sir," Moreland replied, seated in a button-down and khakis next to his
lawyer, Peter Strianse of Nashville. Asked for comment as he was leaving
the courtroom, Moreland did not respond.
Moreland will next appear in court Friday afternoon for a hearing to determine if he will remain in custody pending trial.
Moreland,
a judge since 1998, was the subject of an FBI investigation related to
allegations that he helped people he knew in exchange for things —
including sexual favors, travel and lodging. Among the allegations
documented in police reports and accounts were that he intervened in a
traffic stop for a woman he had a personal relationship with and waived
jail time for his future son-in-law.
According to the U.S.
Attorney's Office, Moreland tried to pay a woman thousands of dollars to
recant her allegations against him. That occurred after March 1, more
than one month after the FBI began an inquiry.
"The
allegations set forth in the indictment set forth egregious abuses of
power by a judge sitting here in Nashville," Smith said in a statement.
A
criminal complaint based on an affidavit of FBI Special Agent Mark
Shafer lays out the investigation, which used confidential sources who
are unnamed in the complaint.
A man, who initially lied to FBI agents about his role, later said he had schemed with Moreland.
According
to the affidavit, that man said the judge was concerned their calls
were being monitored, so he purchased for the judge a “burner phone,” a
temporary cellphone that is often associated with criminal activity.
On
March 11, while the confidential source was working for the FBI, he met
with Moreland. In that meeting, the man told the judge he had met with a
woman making public allegations against Moreland and that she would
sign an affidavit saying she had lied.
The meeting was recorded,
according to the FBI, and during it Moreland handed over the draft
affidavit, $5,100 cash and an explanation.
“This right here gets
me out of trouble,” Moreland said, according to the FBI documents.
Federal officials say Moreland instructed the man to get the woman
"liquored up real good" before asking her to sign the affidavit.
After
being told the woman wanted to make changes to it, Moreland handed over
another $1,000 to sign it as-is, federal officials said.
Moreland
also discussed a plan to have drugs planted on the woman, and then
discovered by police during a traffic stop he would orchestrate,
according to the complaint. Federal officials said the goal was to
destroy the woman's credibility.
Also Tuesday, as the charges were
being announced, Metro Councilman Jeremy Elrod filed a resolution
calling for Moreland's resignation. And Mayor Megan Barry said resigning
would "seem to be in the best interest" of residents who depend on the
integrity of the courts.
"Nashville deserves to have absolute
trust in our judiciary, and Casey Moreland, based upon the allegations
in the federal complaint, seems to have clearly violated that trust,"
Barry said in a statement.
Moreland is one of 11 General Sessions judges in Nashville. Each earns $170,000.
NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Nashville has received a lot of praise for its drug court that offers substance abuse treatment as an alternative to jail.
For 14 years, General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland has overseen the court and its programs to keep people clean and sober.
The Channel 4 I-Team has received information that there may be multiple instances where Moreland has had too much to drink.
He’s been reported to Metro’s CrimeStopper program for getting into a vehicle when he appeared to be drunk.
Questions have been raised about whether on one occasion, his alleged drinking may have led to his own injury.
The
testimonials from those who appear in drug court are both
heart-wrenching and inspiring, written by people whose lives have turned
around when offered treatment over punishment.
Moreland has been in charge of the court for all of its 14 years.
Most
recently he’s drawn attention for a complaint made to the state board
that investigates allegations against judges. The complaint accuses him
of inappropriate conduct, granting favors and dismissing charges for
women he’s traveled and socialized with.
But there are other accusations that he is engaging in the very type of conduct he sees in addicted defendants.
In July, a 911 call from a Nashville restaurant reported a man had fallen down the stairs and was bleeding from his head.
Witnesses told the Channel 4 I-Team that Moreland took a serious fall at a local bar and restaurant last July.
His
companion that day was Natalie Amos, the woman who now says her tickets
and fines disappeared by special arrangement from Moreland.
The 911 caller did not know how the man had fallen down the stairs.
“We don’t really know,” the caller said. “Nobody was with him. We found him at the bottom of the stairs.”
No one saw Moreland fall that evening. His injuries were severe.
WSMV Channel 4 NASHVILLE, TN (WSMV) - Text messages sent from Judge Casey Moreland while
he was on the bench, referring to defendants as “hos” and “junkies,”
raise concerns for one of the nation’s foremost experts on judicial
ethics.
Many of the texts cannot be reprinted because of sexually explicit content.
But
in our review of thousands of text message, the I-Team came upon texts
Moreland sent Amos while he was in court for cases of human trafficking,
prostitution and drug addiction.
In one series of texts, Amos sent a Bitmoji telling Moreland to pay attention to her.
He responds in a text reading, “Just been working! Sorry! My hos in court keep me busy.”
It’s
a derogatory term that Moreland used in another text, where he wrote to
Amos, “Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my busy days! Hos and junkies!”
The
I-Team showed the texts as well as all our previous investigations to
Indiana University Maurer School of Law professor Charlie Geyh, a
Carnegie fellow who has testified before the U.S. Senate as an expert on
judicial ethics.
"If you're using disparaging terms to
characterize people who appear before you on a pretty regular basis, it
suggests you harbor a bias against them that calls your impartiality
into question,” Geyh said.
The I-Team showed him how repeatedly,
Moreland texted Amos for personal reasons while he was holding court,
including cases where he was listening to information about a wire tape
and on a cocaine case.
At one point, Moreland sent her a picture of the defendants before him.
"The business of being on the telephone, in the middle of court proceedings, is itself a problem," Geyh said.
We also showed Geyh our investigation into Moreland’s involvement in Amos’ ticket and fines.
"I
think it's still very problematic,” he said. “Judges need to be mindful
of the power they exercise and not to use that power for their own
personal advantage."
After reviewing our investigations, Geyh said it is time for Moreland to rethink his career.
"If
all that is reported is true, this may not be a judge who is well
suited for the bench. I think the best bet is to step down,” Geyh said.
In
the preamble of the Tennessee Judicial Code, it reads, “Judges should
maintain the dignity of judicial office at all times, and avoid both
impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in their professional and
personal lives.”
In the attempt to once more try to speak with
Judge Moreland, the I-Team sent two emails, containing all of the texts,
to Moreland’s attorney. We are still waiting to hear back.
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. - An FBI investigation involving General Sessions Judge Casey
Moreland isn't the first ethics controversy he has faced.
As the judge who started the General Sessions Drug Court, Casey Moreland has earned high praise for his work with addicts.
But,
more than once, he's also found himself at the center of controversy,
beginning in 2006 with a ticket-fixing scandal uncovered by NewsChannel 5 Investigates.
At
the time, we asked the judge,"If a police officer comes to you and
says 'Judge, this ticket was given to a friend of mine," would you
dismiss it?"
"Have I dismissed it? Yes," Moreland admitted.
Among the tickets that he dismissed was one for then House Speaker Jimmy Naifeh.
Moreland
said he decided to dismiss all the tickets on the docket with Naifeh
that day because he just happened to be in a good mood.
We noted, "Sounds like what you're saying... instead of the justice system, it's the lottery system."
"That day, it probably was," the judge acknowledged.
Then,
in 2009, Moreland received a private reprimand from the board that
oversees Tennessee judges after our investigation caught him using court
employees to work around his house.
NewsChannel 5 Investigates confronted Moreland with the information that one employee was at his house without taking leave from his court job.
"He was on city time. He did not take that day off," we noted.
"Well, he should have," the judge answered.
We replied, "But you're the one supervising whether he does or not."
Moreland nodded, "I understand."
Five
years later, Moreland was publicly reprimanded after he intervened in a
domestic violence case at the request of his attorney friend Bryan
Lewis.
In that case, he arranged to have Lewis's client, developer
David Chase, released from jail -- despite a state law requiring a
12-hour hold.
Still, Moreland refused to admit any wrongdoing.
"I would never intentionally hurt anybody or do something that would hurt someone like that, especially, especially a woman."
The Nashville Scene reports that an anonymous ethics complaint has been filed against Judge Moreland and others over these latest allegations.
Because
that complaint wasn't sent to us -- and because those complaints are
not public -- we cannot independently confirm that information.
Still, Judge Moreland insisted to the Scene that he has not done anything improper.
NASHVILLE,
Tenn. - The Federal Bureau of Investigation is asking questions about
an embattled Davidson County judge, NewsChannel 5 has learned.
Their
focus is on allegations of improper relationships and official actions
involving longtime General Sessions Judge Casey Moreland.
FBI
agents began conducting interviews after allegations emerged from a
Metro police investigation into the death of Leigh Terry, a 34-year-old
Nashville woman who friends say struggled with depression and alcohol.
Her body was found inside an apartment in the Stahlman Building across from the Metro Courthouse.
Police ruled her death a suicide.
Terry's
death came just days after a trip to the Alabama coast with Moreland
and defense attorney Bryan Lewis -- a pair whose relationship and
vacations have raised ethical questions in the past.
Accompanying
the two on this trip were Terry and two other women who, according to
court records, had all been defendants assigned to Moreland's court at
some point in the past.
According to the police investigative
file, Lewis admitted paying for Terry's apartment in the Stahlman, as
well as loaning her the gun she eventually used to kill herself.
He later admitted the relationship with Terry was more than just an attorney-client relationship.
"It
would be classified a friend and a friend with benefits. Had I had sex
with her on occasions? Yes," Lewis told a Metro detective in a
tape-recorded interview.
Lewis said he first met Terry when he represented her on a 2013 DUI.
A former boyfriend, Roy Matlock, told police that Terry told him right after they met about a troubling encounter with Moreland.
"When I met her she basically gave me like all her dirty laundry," Matlock told police.
"She
told me right then that she had sex with Casey Moreland in the chambers
- and that's what kept her out of jail. And she said I feel nasty."
Police
reports show another former boyfriend, Brian Pesterfield, also insisted
Terry had told him "she got out of a DUI by sleeping with Judge
Moreland."
In fact, court records show the 2013 DUI was originally assigned to Moreland.
But
the final order, reducing that case to reckless driving and sentencing
her to five days in jail, was signed by another judge.
Jail records show Terry never showed up to serve her sentence.
Still, court documents show that Moreland later terminated Terry's probation, effectively ending the case.
Also on the trip was Natalie Amos, who admits she was in a relationship with Judge Moreland.
She was reluctant to tell police who was on the trip.
"I
know you don't want to mention somebody, but I just need to know who we
are talking about," a Metro detective said to Amos in a recorded
interview.
"Casey Moreland," Amos replied.
According to the
police file, Terry had told Roy Matlock that "when Natalie Amos told her
she owed high court fees, she would call Judge Moreland and have them
waived."
Numerous witnesses said Terry began acting erratically during the trip, even threatening to expose Moreland and Lewis.
"She
said, 'Ok, I hope you're ready.' And she's like 'I will ruin you.' She
said 'I know things.' She's like 'you both know what I'm talking
about,'" Amos told police.
Pesterfield recounted how "on the trip
she yelled at Bryan Lewis and Casey Moreland that she was going to tell
the media about the trips and the mistresses, how she slept with Casey
Moreland to get out of a DUI."
Bryan Lewis's reaction to her threats:
"I
took that as an idle threat from her, something that was made in the
heat of the moment and, you know, that she wouldn't follow through
with," Lewis told police.
And Moreland told police he also felt Terry "would calm down and come to her senses" once she got home.
A former boyfriend flew down to the Alabama coast and brought her back to Nashville.
Just days later, the troubled young woman took her own life.
Again, multiple sources say FBI agents have begun conducting interviews in conjunction with these allegations.
We don't know whether this is just a preliminary investigation -- or a full-fledged public corruption case.
Moreland's
attorney Worrick Robinson said they will cooperate with any
investigation and he looks forward to telling Moreland's side.
DA Glenn Funk also named in filing to Board of Professional Review and Board of Judicial Conduct
Lewis & Moreland vacationing in Costa Rica in 2013
Following a Scene story on Tuesday, a complaint was filed today with both the Board of Professional Responsibility and the Board of Judicial Conduct against attorney Bryan Lewis and Judge Casey Moreland alleging “violations of the rules governing attorneys and judges.” These boards regulate the conduct of attorneys and judges, respectively.
The filing was made anonymously “due to concerns regarding retaliation.” A copy of the complaint was simultaneously sent to both the Scene and WSMV-Channel 4 from an anonymous email account. Attempts to reach the person who filed the complaint were unsuccessful.
The Scene story, which detailed the suicide of Leigh Terry following a trip to Alabama with Moreland, Lewis and others, included allegations, contained in a Metro police report, that Moreland had sex with Terry, who is a client of Lewis', in exchange for the dismissal of her DUI charges. When asked if he had ever had sex with Terry, Moreland told the Scene, “I fully reject and deny any personal relationship with Leigh Terry whatsoever.”
Lewis would later describe his relationship with Terry as a “friend with benefits,” and he paid for an apartment for her.
Additionally, the complaint filed with the two boards alleges misconduct about Judge Michael Binkley, a circuit court judge in Williamson County, and Davidson County District Attorney Glenn Funk. According to the complaint, Binkley was arrested “during a prostitution sting on Dickerson Road in 2010.” According to the complaint, the charges against Binkley “were dismissed and expunged by Judge Casey Moreland on the very same day in a highly unusual manner, both in timing and procedure. Since that time, Attorney Lewis has boasted to a number of individuals that Judge Binkley ‘owes’ Attorney Lewis and Judge Moreland for ‘fixing’ the prostitution charges against Judge Binkley.” The Scene could not independently verify the truth of the allegations contained in the complaint filed with the two boards.
The Scene left messages with Binkley’s office requesting a response. WSMV reached Binkley, who responded with “no comment.” Funk's office declined to comment on the complaint.
Lewis is already scheduled for a three-day hearing before the Board of Professional Responsibility, beginning Feb. 13, on charges that he improperly sought and received Moreland's assistance in gaining the early release of developer David Chase from a mandatory 12-hour hold. Chase had been arrested on suspicion of domestic violence. The original complaint against Lewis, which led to this hearing, charges that he attempted to influence a judge by improper means, had an ex parte contact with the judge, and assisted the judge in the violation of the code of judicial conduct. That complaint also notes that Moreland was publicly reprimanded for his actions in releasing Chase before the mandatory 12-hour hold.
Ironically, Chase is suing ex-girlfriend Lauren Bull and others for defamation in a case which is pending in Binkley’s Williamson County courtroom.
Anyone who “wilfully” files a “groundless” ethics complaint against a
South Carolina judge could face a maximum one-year prison sentence or a
fine of up to $1,000 if convicted of the criminal misdemeanor charge,
under a state House bill now in the Senate.
There currently is no such criminal charge covering "groundless"
complaints filed with the S.C. Commission on Judicial Conduct, a
26-member panel appointed by the Supreme Court that can authorize ethics
charges against judges and conduct hearings.
On top of the criminal penalty, H. 3184, sponsored by Rep. Tommy Pope,
R-York and a former solicitor, would allow a reconfigured Commission of
Judicial Conduct to impose a maximum $1,000 civil fine against a person
who filed a complaint that was "groundless, wilful and without just
cause or with malice" - something which is not specified in current law
or court rules.
Judges in the Palmetto State rarely face any discipline - public or private - despite several hundred complaints filed yearly, The Nerve
found in a review of court statistics over the past five fiscal years.
And the disciplinary process is largely secret under court rules.
Under those rules, anyone filing complaints against judges can publicly
reveal their allegations whether or not formal ethics charges are
authorized by the Commission on Judicial Conduct, though H. 3184 would
keep complaints secret unless charges are issued. Under the bill, the
“wilful release of confidential information" would be a criminal
misdemeanor, punishable upon conviction by a maximum one-year prison
sentence or a fine of up to $1,000.
Contacted Friday, a retired Colorado appellate judge and former
executive director of the American Judicature Society, a national
judicial research organization that dissolved last year, told The Nerve that the language in H. 3184 could have a chilling effect on citizens filing legitimate ethics complaints against S.C. judges.
“It’s like going through a red traffic light - you just have to go
through the traffic light to get a ticket,” said Russell Carparelli, who
served on the Colorado Court of Appeals from 2003 to 2013. “That’s what
they seem to be saying here (in H. 3184) - you just have to do it.
There’s no criminal intent.”
Neither the terms “wilful” nor “groundless” are defined the bill, which
Carparelli said would give S.C. authorities wide discretion in
interpreting it, adding, “If you make it too wide in the beginning, it
can have far more unintended consequences.”
Pope, who is the House speaker pro tempore, told The Nerve
when initially contacted last week that he thought the bill’s language
was copied from existing state ethics law covering state lawmakers and
other public officials.
“I’m thinking it’s to mirror that,” said Pope, a former longtime solicitor for York and Union counties.
Under current ethics law, the House and Senate Ethics committees have
sole jurisdiction over House and Senate members, respectively, while the
State Ethics Commission polices other state and local public officials
for ethics violations. Pope’s bill would give a reconfigured State
Ethics Commission - which would be made up of members appointed by the
governor, Supreme Court and Legislature - the authority to investigate
state lawmakers.
Current law allows for a civil fine in lieu of, or in place of, the
criminal penalty for the “wilful” filing of a “groundless” complaint
against lawmakers or other elected public officials. In contrast, H.
3184 would allow for a civil fine in addition to the criminal penalty
for "wilful" and "groundless" complaints against judges.
Under the bill, if the State Ethics Commission found that a
"complaining party wilfully filed a groundless complaint, the finding
must be reported to the Attorney General and to the Commission on
Judicial Conduct." The reconfigured judicial commission would be made up
of 24 members, with the Supreme Court, governor and Legislature each
appointing eight members.
The Nerve in a written follow-up message asked Pope, who
previously served on the House Ethics Committee, whether he believed
potential criminal and civil penalties for filing ethics complaints
against judges and politicians would have a chilling effect on citizens’
free-speech rights. No response was given by publication of this story.
Lee Coggiola, who heads the state Office of Disciplinary Counsel, which
screens ethics complaints against judges and conducts investigations on
behalf of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, was surprised when
contacted last week by The Nerve about the bill’s language concerning judicial complaints.
“I really thought that had come out (of the bill),” she said.
Pope included criminal and civil penalties for "wilfully" filing
"groundless" complaints against judges when he initially introduced his
bill on Dec. 18, though that section later was taken out by the House
Judiciary Committee. But on Jan. 28 on the House floor, Reps. James
Smith, D-Richland, and Doug Brannon, R-Spartanburg - both of whom are
attorneys - successfully sponsored an amendment reinserting the
sanctions and allowing the civil fine to be in addition to the criminal
penalty instead of "in lieu of" as written in Pope's original version,
according to the House Journal.
The legislation, which is co-sponsored by 39 House Republicans and
Democrats, including House Speaker Jay Lucas, R-Darlington and an
attorney, is part of a package of House bills aimed at reforming various
parts of state ethics law. Pope’s bill passed the House on Jan. 29 and
was referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee, chaired by Sen. Larry
Martin, R-Pickens. Freshman Rep. Jonathon Hill, R-Anderson, was the only
House member to vote against the bill on the final reading.
Martin, who is chairman this year of the legislatively controlled
judicial screening commission, was the main sponsor of an omnibus ethics
bill (S. 1), which failed earlier this month on the Senate floor after
an amendment, sponsored by Sen. Luke Rankin, R-Horry and the Senate
Ethics Committee chairman, was added that would have kept lawmakers
involved with investigating themselves for alleged ethics violations.
Under current law, neither the House or Senate Ethics committees nor
State Ethics Commission has jurisdiction over judges for violations of
the state’s judicial code of conduct. Discipline of judges rests with
the S.C. Supreme Court; the Commission of Judicial Conduct - made up of
14 judges, four lawyers who have never held a judgeship and eight public
members - is responsible for investigations and hearings, with
assistance from the Office of Disciplinary Counsel (ODC), an arm of the
Supreme Court.
One of the judicial conduct commission’s members - Greenville County
Circuit Judge Edward “Ned” Miller, whom the Legislature re-elected
earlier this month - is under investigation by the ODC for alleged
ethics violations filed by Brenda Bryant of Lexington County in
connection with her legal battle involving guardianship of her adult
intellectually disabled daughter, as The Nerve has chronicled since October.
South Carolina and Virginia are the only states where their legislatures play primary roles in electing judges.
Few Judges Disciplined The Nerve’s review of annual statistical reports by the
Commission on Judicial Conduct found that the vast majority of
complaints against judges are dismissed, and there are few public
sanctions of judges.
Over the past five fiscal years, the commission received a total of
1,473 complaints against judges, plus handled a collective 180
complaints that were pending at the beginning of those fiscal years. The
vast majority of complaints - 1,365, or nearly 83 percent of the total
1,653 received and pending complaints - were dismissed, mainly by the
ODC after initial review.
Specifics about the dismissal reasons were not given in the reports. Court officials previously have told The Nerve
that complaints typically are dismissed because they raise appellate
issues rather than ethical allegations, though the public usually has no
way of reviewing those complaints because they are kept secret under
court rules.
The vast majority of complaints that were not dismissed over the
five-year period were handled with private sanctions or other private
actions - 120, or nearly 88 percent, out of 137 complaints, The Nerve’s review found.
Of 17 public sanctions issued over the period, according to commission
reports, 14, or 82 percent, were public reprimands - generally the
least-severe public sanction available under court rules. Two judges
were suspended, and one was removed from office, records show.
No disciplined judges are identified in the reports. The Nerve’s
review of online Supreme Court disciplinary orders over the past five
fiscal years found no public sanctions of any family, circuit,
master-in-equity or appellate judges, though a total of 725 complaints
were filed against judges in those categories over the period,
commission reports show.
Virtually all of the judges identified in the disciplinary orders were
lower-level magistrates, also known as summary court judges, which
include municipal judges. The only sanctioned judge during the period
besides a summary court judge was an associate probate judge. Most of
the disciplined judges received public reprimands.
The only jurist removed from office by the Supreme Court during the
period was a municipal judge; several magistrates resigned or retired
from office before receiving public reprimands, The Nerve’s review found.
