"[A] King County judge who has been compared to TV's 'Judge Judy' should be suspended without pay for five days for being rude to defendants in her courtroom.
[The] court ruled Thursday that King County District Judge Judith Eiler violated rules requiring judges to be 'patient, dignified, and courteous' to defendants, lawyers and others.
Five justices, led by Justice Jim Johnson, ruled in favor of the five-day suspension plus censure. But four others insisted that Eiler should be subject to a 90-day suspension recommended by the Commission on Judicial Conduct."
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I've witnessed this routine many times over the years. As I've said previously, there is some frustration on the part of some judges that they are powerless to actually affect behavior of the defendants who appear, oftentimes, again and again before them. The judges aspire to say something that might register in a positive way on these folks that will work to the advantage of the justice system and the community. This is especially true in "small law" courts.
Unfortunately there are some jurists who lose their professional demeanor and become the sort of rude and outrageous parody of the teevee judges that apparently prompted the State of Washington to act as it has in Judge Eiler's case.
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Glad you picked this story up, Bad, judges like this cause disregard for the proactive efforts of good judge sto help the communities they serve.
ReplyDeleteAntoinette
The patronizing attitude of white Judges like Eiler lead us to conclude that Justice is Just Us.
ReplyDeleteIn OurCounty we have many Judges of both genders, and pre-television Court TV who were of this type. I always remember a dear old Irish lawyer who dealt with a particularly obnoxious Judge and nearly was incarcerated for contempt. The Judge has been a miserable pox on the citizens, but local media dubbed her the "toughest judge" and like sheep she is routinely reelected without opposition. I'm pretty sure I've featured her on this blawg and pointed out that her so-called "tough" stuff frequently costs the taxpayers both financially to correct her errors and in terms of safety because defendants who should be incarcerated are freed because of her propensity to deprive them of their due process rights.
ReplyDeleteBL
Good JoB WA! Thanks for supporting good judges for the real people.
ReplyDeleteWHAT IS WRONG WITH THIS PICTURE!!!! She was suspended for 90 days and then lowered to 5 days!!!! Look at the complaints the last few years.. She had to put herself through anger management classes on her dime. I testified against her a year ago. Why is she still in the system!!! She needs to be gone.
ReplyDeleteThere is a built in reticence to whack the judge, because we entrust judges to issue binding orders effecting life, liberty, and property. I think the hesitation, and I'm not saying that this is right (obviously, consider the context of this blawg)--but, if you sanction the judge what does that say about the credibility of the State as it pertains to those binding orders issued by the Judge over time?
ReplyDeleteBL
I have a great respect for public civil servant's , policemen firemen doctors and so on.and lose that respect when a person in a position of authority abuses that power. However it makes me even more angry when a defendant who has been in court before the same judge over a dozen times get's another slap on the wrist and is once again released
ReplyDeleteto once again wreak havoc and break the law. that is just plan outrageous.!!!!!!!
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