Greene County judge charged with judicial misconduct

Judge Farley Toothman

by Lacretia Wimbley

A Greene County judge faces charges of judicial misconduct in the handling of several criminal cases, including one in which he ordered a woman jailed for 25 days in alleged retaliation for a 2017 incident involving his law clerk.

The Pennsylvania Judicial Conduct Board filed a 21-count complaint against President Judge Farley Toothman, who serves on the Greene County Court of Common Pleas. The complaint was filed Thursday with the state Court of Judicial Discipline.

The board accuses Judge Toothman of retaliating against a woman, Christy McCarty, who was a customer at a Sunoco gas station and convenience store near the courthouse in Waynesburg on Sept. 6, 2017, when she questioned the actions of the judge's law clerk Alexsandra Chamberlain, who was also at the station. McCarty left, the complaint said, but Chamberlain felt as though she was being accused of theft, so she confronted the store clerks.

Store employees told her they were not accusing her of anything, but stated they would have their supervisor review surveillance video later because she appeared “suspicious,” the complaint said.

The law clerk left and returned to Judge Toothman’s chambers, where she told him about the incident, according to the complaint. The complaint said the judge then went to the gas station with Chamberlain to talk to the employees, but the judge and his law clerk were asked to leave due to “harassment.”

Judge Toothman called police and had them investigate, but no charges were filed in the matter against either of the women.

The Judicial Board’s filing stated that Judge Toothman told his staff to search McCarty’s court records and ordered an immediate hearing the next day for her without prior notice in an unrelated case. At the closed-door hearing, which was held without attorneys or prosecutors present, Judge Toothman found McCarty guilty of civil contempt for allegedly violating a payment plan in connection with that case.

She was held for 25 days at the Greene County Prison, the complaint said.

In an Oct. 2, 2017 hearing, the Judicial Board complaint stated, the judge asked McCarty if she was going to be a "good girl" after her time in jail. She was released that day. No payments were made during her incarceration.

The Judicial Board also accused the judge of attempting to cover up misdeeds by having courthouse staff sign non-disclosure agreements. One such employee, a custodial worker, refused, the complaints states.

The judge could not be reached for comment on the charges but told the Observer-Reporter newspaper Thursday night that the complaint was regrettable.

“I do my best every day,” Judge Toothman said. “I respect the system and will comply with the process.”

Judge Toothman has 30 days to respond to the complaint.

If the Court of Judicial Discipline finds Judge Toothman to be guilty of any of the charges in the complaint, a hearing will be held to determine what sanction should be imposed. Sanctions include censure, suspension, fines and removal from office.

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Greene County judge charged with judicial misconduct

Embattled Judge Russo's lawyers fire back after he was kicked out of courthouse

TOMS RIVER - Lawyers for Superior Court Judge John F. Russo Jr. say the embattled Ocean County jurist “personally observed the highest standards of conduct," despite a complaint accusing him of violating the state code of judicial conduct.

But attorneys David F. Corrigan and Amelia Carolla said the judge is “in a difficult position" to defend against the accusations because he has been removed from duty and barred from the Ocean County Courthouse.

As a result, “he has no access to files, transcripts, notes, other documents and staff that might refresh his recollection in order to better respond to the allegations," the attorneys said in their written response to a complaint filed against Russo March 26 by the Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct.

Russo, among other things, is charged with asking the victim of an alleged rape if she tried to prevent the attack by keeping her legs closed.

Russo is a former mayor of Toms River and the son of the late state Sen. John Russo Sr. He was appointed to a seven-year term on the Superior Court bench in 2015, after serving almost six years as an administrative law judge.

Russo was removed from his judicial duties April 12, 2017, by Ocean County’s assignment judge amid allegations that he threw a file at his law clerk and had a “poop emoji" hanging in his chambers. Those allegations are separate from those contained in the advisory committee’s complaint.  

Corrigan and Carolla, in a May 14 written response to the advisory committee’s complaint, said of Russo, “He was consistently dignified, courteous and impartial to those he dealt with in a judicial capacity."

The attorneys said Russo "did not attempt to use his position to gain personal advantage or deferential treatment of any kind."

The advisory committee’s complaint contained four allegations: that Russo was discourteous to and mistreated an alleged rape victim who was seeking a restraining order by asking her, among other questions, if she kept her legs closed; that he attempted to use his judicial office to influence scheduling of a personal legal matter he had pending in Burlington County; that he failed to recuse himself in a spousal support matter involving a couple with whom he acknowledged having a personal relationship; and that he had improper communications with one of two parties to a paternity matter he presided over.

Corrigan and Carolla denied each of the allegations in their written response.

The complaint contained a portion of the transcript of a colloquy between Russo and the alleged rape victim in which he asked her what she did to try to stave off the attack:

“Block your body parts? … Close your legs? Call the police? Did you do any of those things?"

Russo’s attorneys responded, “The selected excerpts do not effectively capture the essence of this matter which occurred over three days."

Regarding the allegation that Russo attempted to use his judicial office to influence scheduling of a personal legal matter in Burlington County, his attorneys denied that and also noted the date of his court matter there was incorrectly stated in the complaint.

Defending against the allegation that Russo failed to recuse himself in a spousal support matter involving a couple he knew personally, the judge’s attorneys repeatedly stated he was without sufficient information to respond because he doesn’t have access to documents.

The complaint said Russo reduced another judge's order for payment of spousal support arrears from $10,000 to $300, while acknowledging a personal relationship with the couple and familiarity with the husband's business.

“Respondent was a newly appointed judge to the Superior Court with little or no training or supervision prior to September 2016," Corrigan and Carolla wrote in their response to the complaint.

The attorneys said Ocean County Assignment Judge Marlene Lynch Ford, long before the advisory committee’s complaint was lodged, already had discussions with Russo about errors he may have made and “indicated no further action was needed and made no referral to the committee."

However, in a certification in response to a federal lawsuit Russo filed against Ford and other judges last year after Ford barred him from the bench, the assignment judge revealed the existence of an investigation into Russo’s conduct and gave detailed reasons for removing him.

Ford, in the court certification, said there were incidents in which Russo “made threatening or bizarre statements; exhibited explosive fits of rage; lacked appropriate courtroom demeanor or reasonable legal competence in the field of law assigned to him; and otherwise exhibited extreme emotional immaturity."

Ford, in the certification, noted a “poop emoji" in Russo’s chambers which she said was “juvenile and not befitting the dignity of a judicial chambers where lawyers and others regularly conferenced with the judge."

Ford, in the certification, also referred to the colloquy in which Russo asked the alleged rape victim if she kept her legs closed. She said there was an allegation that Russo threw a file at his law clerk — the final act that prompted her to take away his judicial duties unless he submitted to a mental health evaluation.

Russo refused and instead filed a federal lawsuit alleging Ford and other bosses discriminated against him because he has a disabled son.

Russo’s attorneys, in response to the judicial misconduct complaint, said Russo “has a good reputation and character." They said while he was on the bench, he “handled cases efficiently," and eliminated a backlog of cases in the Family Division “for the first time in many years." Russo worked hard and was “caring and passionate about litigants," his attorneys said in their written response to the complaint.

“Respondent is unaware of any complaints against his strong work ethic, and to his knowledge, no party that appeared before him was ever successful in an appeal," the attorneys said.

Russo remains on paid administrative leave from his $165,000-a-year position. A hearing on the judicial misconduct charges has not yet been scheduled.

Following a hearing, the judicial conduct committee will advise the state Supreme Court of its recommendation as to what, if any, public disciplinary action should be taken against Russo. Only the Supreme Court can publicly discipline a judge. Discipline can range from public reprimand or censure to suspension or dismissal. 



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Embattled Judge Russo's lawyers fire back after he was kicked out of courthouse

Lawsuit Claims Campaign Contributions Influenced Ruling by Former Judge Mike Maggio

CONWAY, AR - Misdeeds by a disgraced Arkansas judge have coming to light as a family that lost a loved one in a central Arkansas nursing home plans to sue. 

A family whose jury-awarded settlement was cut  by former Judge Mike Maggio is planning to go back to court.

In March allegations were made that campaign donations by the owner of nursing homes around the state were in exchange for the reduced jury verdict in a negligence case.

The attention to Maggio began when an Arkansas blog called "Blue Hog Report" revealed the former Judge was the person behind posts revealing a confidential adoption by actress Charlize Theron.

After a judicial investigation, Maggio was stripped of his judgeship by the Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission.

The attorney for the family filed the lawsuit Tuesday (11/18) naming three defendants including Maggio as well as five additional unnamed defendants.

The suit outlined a previous wrongful death suit, the decisions made by Maggio that corresponded with donations by the defendant in that case that's also a defendant in the latest suit.

Now the family wants money they say they're owed.

The lawsuit filed in Faulkner County by the attorney for the family of Martha Bull, who died in a Greenbrier nursing home, claims Maggio received campaign contributions that influenced his decision in the case.

After the 2013 trial a jury awarded Bull's estate $5.2 million.

The defendant in that case, Michael Morton, appealed the amount and Maggio later lowered it to $1 million.

The lawsuit points out that Morton, on the day of the ruling, donated $21k to different political action committees, which were all believed to be funneled to Maggio's campaign for Appellate Judge.

The family claims Morton intended to reduce the jury verdict.

Their lawsuit names Maggio and Morton along with Gilbert Baker, who allegedly acted as an agent for Maggio soliciting campaign contributions.

The family has asked for punitive damages as a result of "judicial corruption and having been denied their constitutional rights".

We spoke to the family earlier this year when they first learned of the claims.

Rosey Perkins said, "To most of us it didn't seem right but we're just a family that tries to take care of ourselves."

As of Tuesday evening, Maggio's attorney says her client has not been served the lawsuit and had no comment on anything the lawsuit claimed.

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Lawsuit Claims Campaign Contributions Influenced Ruling by Former Judge Mike Maggio

Brevard judge tells attorney, 'I'll beat your ass,' allegedly throws punches

BREVARD COUNTY, Fla. — Court deputies had to break up a physical fight between a Brevard County judge and a public defender after an argument during a hearing on Monday.

Judge John Murphy is accused of punching veteran public defender Andrew Weinstock after the two had words during court in which Murphy allegedly pressured Weinstock to get his client to waive his right to a speedy trial.

"You know, if I had a rock I would throw it at you right now," Murphy tells Weinstock. "Stop pissing me off. Just sit down."

"You know I'm the public defender. I have a right to be here and I have a right to stand and represent my client," Weinstock said in the video.

The judge allegedly asked Weinstock to come to the back hallway, an area where there are no cameras, which is where the fight broke out.

"If you want to fight, let's go out back and I'll just beat your ass," Murphy tells Weinstock before the two head out of the courtroom.

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Brevard judge tells attorney, 'I'll beat your ass,' allegedly throws punches

Disciplinary committee files complaint against Mercer County judge accused of mistreating employees

TRENTON – A state court disciplinary committee has filed an official complaint against Mercer County Judge Gerald Council alleging that the judge mistreated employees in the Drug Court Program, which he oversees.

According to the formal complaint filed by the Advisory Committee on Judicial Conduct, Council was demeaning toward a drug court coordinator, on one occasion shushing her and telling her he did not want to hear from her in front of a drug court participant and another employee.

On another occasion the woman, referred to as A.J., alleges in the complaint that Council pulled her by the ear toward the exit of the courtroom saying “come on, come on, come on” and referred to her as “my problem child.”

Council also allegedly referred to one employee who was a senior probation officer as his “little pet” at a staff meeting.

The officer felt uncomfortable after the comment and corrected Council in front of other employees that she was not his “pet,” according to the complaint. The complaint alleges that Council also referred to an investigator on his Drug Court team as “hop-a-long” on a few occasions after that employee underwent hip replacement surgery.

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Disciplinary committee files complaint against Mercer County judge accused of mistreating employees