A Really Bad Judge, Revealed

Various websites are noting that "Judge Judy" a faux-small law court "reality" show has surpassed Oprah in the ratings.  The "Judge" on Judge Judy makes beau coup bucks (millions), for her really obnoxious and disrespectful take on "judging."  Now a wanna-be "Judge Judy" has been revealed to have turned her courtroom into an audition studio.  The extended account from Greg Moran at the San Diego Union-Tribune is pretty surprising:

The 21-page complaint the Commission on Judicial Performance has brought against San Diego Superior Court Judge DeAnn M. Salcido itemizes more than three dozen instances of what it contends is a “pattern of misconduct” and abuse of authority.  At times, Salcido led the court’s audience in chanting slogans and regularly mocked a defense attorney who appeared before her, according to the commission, which is charged with disciplining judges.

The allegations span from January 2009 to March of this year, though many of them concern a single day — May 1, 2009 — when she used her El Cajon courtroom to film an audition for a “Judge Judy”-type reality television program.  She arranged for a television production crew to film her in session for the possible reality show, going so far as to arrange her calendar to 'line up' the most interesting cases for that day, the commission says.

The commission, which filed its complaint last week, has given Salcido 20 days to respond to the allegations in writing. A public hearing on the case, with testimony and witnesses, could be held in the coming months. She ultimately could be removed from office.  In her only public comments so far, Salcido released a statement on Thursday saying that her 'style' on the bench is different, employing humor and  'tough love' on those who come before her. She also offered a hint of what may be part of her defense.

'I believe the time is now ripe for our judicial system to begin examining whether the traditional demeanor and approach of the judiciary is the best means for accomplishing justice, particularly in a rapidly changing world with a culturally diverse population,' Salcido said.

The commission’s complaint lists 17 times when Salcido’s conduct and comments crossed into misconduct on the day of the audition taping. They include:

• When a lawyer asked for a moment to consult with his client, Salcido asked the audience, Does he need to call the lifeline? Try to tell him let’s make a deal. I think he needs to call the lifeline. Yeah. Want to poll the audience? What should he do? Take the deal, take the deal, take the deal.'  'The lawyer then said his client was opting to enroll in a court probation program instead of going to jail for 60 days, because he was the only person who could take care of his 75-year-old ailing mother.  'Then God help her,' Salcido said.

• A defendant with mental health problems had been hearing voices. 'Okay. And we talked, right?' Salcido said, according to the complaint. 'You’re going to tell me if they say, ‘hurt the judge, hurt the judge.’

• On two occasions, she asked the audience to repeat in unison a slogan — 'Do or do not, there is no try' — when defendants were speaking to her. The phrase is posted in her courtroom.

• Salcido asked the audience to chant 'woo, woo' during the videotaping. They obliged.

The complaint also gives examples from other days of Salcido’s courtroom commentary, including:

• Three times she made disparaging remarks about Deputy Public Defender Richard Longman. She called him 'the slowest public defender we have in the courthouse.' Salcido told the father of one client, He’s named Mr. Longman' for a reason.'

The complaint says that Salcido’s negative comments about Longman 'created the appearance' of discouraging a defendant’s legal right to consult with a lawyer.   Longman was out of the office Monday and not available for comment. Chief Deputy Public Defender Randy Mize declined to speak about Salcido’s comment regarding Longman because it is part of the pending case before judicial commission. 'We were aware of it,' Mize said.

• A defendant came to court wearing an Oakland Raiders jersey. Salcido, an avid Chargers fan, asked him which door he wanted to use to leave. The choices were the 'Chargers door,' used by the public to enter and exit the court, or the 'Raiders door,' which is where people sentenced to jail leave the courtroom.  Salcido asked a woman in the courtroom who was with the man if she thought he was 'smart' coming to her court in a Raiders jersey.  'No?' Salcido said. 'What does that say about you … and the kind of men you pick?

• When a defendant accidentally called her 'sir,' Salcido pushed herself away from the bench while still in her chair and said, 'Do these look like the clothes of a sir?” She then raised her leg above the bench, held her leg by the ankle, and said, 'Do these look like the boots of a sir?'

• She ripped up a letter from a doctor that was provided by a lawyer for a woman who could not make her court date because she was pregnant, out of state and not allowed to fly.

• Salcido had a woman taken into custody for a brief period of time for contempt of court, ordering deputies to put her in the court holding tank because she believed the woman was being disrespectful, without first holding a hearing as required.

Mario Conte, a law professor at California Western School of Law and a former defense lawyer, said that some judges can be eccentric and irreverent, and each judge runs a courtroom in a different way.   'At times a good sense of humor to liven things up and relax things can be a wonderful thing for a judge to have,' he said, especially in high-volume courtrooms with full daily calendars.   But the jokes can’t be made at the expense of clients or lawyers, Conte said.  'You have to treat people with respect, he said. 'You can’t use them as a prop for humor.''

He would not say if Salcido had overstepped the bounds because the case is pending and he had not read her side of the events. But he was troubled by the allegations.  If a judge is doing certain things in order to get on a TV program, I think that is objectionable,' Conte said.  If the allegations are found to be true after the commission’s hearing, Salcido faces a spectrum of punishment — from formal admonishment to public censure to removal from office.
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I once dated a young woman who said she was "brutally honest" when in fact she was just "brutal."  Likewise I hear people talk about "tough love," but forget the "love" part. 

Judges and courtrooms are dramatic enough without this sort of thing.  Judge Salcido needs "treatment" not "the treatment."

The Tyrant Judge of Jackson, Mississippi

The Mississippi Clarion Ledger reports on the petty tyrant Hinds County (Jackson, Mississippi) Judge Houston Patton and the proposed slap on the wrist for his pattern of judicial misconduct. This is from reporter Jimmie E. Gates' Clarion Ledger story:

"Hinds County Judge Houston Patton (small pic, left--the only one I could find) doesn't dispute that he jailed two people for contempt in civil disputes. Nor does he deny that in one of those instances he discussed the case outside the courtroom and wrongfully issued a search warrant.

'I'm in the middle of my re-election campaign, and that is where my concentration is and that's all I need to say,'  Patton said Wednesday when reached by phone. The state's judicial watchdog group concluded Patton denied these individuals' due process rights and is recommending that the 74-year-old be publicly reprimanded and fined $1,000.  The recommendation from the state Commission on Judicial Performance comes as Patton, a county judge since 1990, also is fighting a federal lawsuit.

The state Supreme Court will determine what, if any, punishment Patton will receive. One of the cases that led to the commission's recommendation involves the jailing of a Jackson city councilman's brother in a civil case. Homer Tillman said Wednesday it came as a big surprise to him when he was arrested.

Patton issued a final judgment of $44,300.82 on March 31, 2009, against Tillman in a case brought by former Jackson Fire Chief Vernon Hughes and his wife, Constance, for problems with Tillman's work as a housing contractor.  On April 7, the couple filed to have Tillman held in contempt of court for failing to pay the judgment . . . and without notification, [Judge] Patton held Tillman in contempt, ordered his arrest [and jailed him.]

'He knew better than that,' Tillman said of Patton's actions. [ . . .]

Two other cases cited by the commission involve Billy Ralph Sullivan, a former Terry-area resident.

On Jan. 7, 2007, Joseph and Debra Gregory filed a complaint in Hinds County Court against Sullivan and his company, A & S Environmental, alleging Sullivan owed the them $21,875 for lease payments on a Daewoo track-hoe, attorney fees and other costs.  Sullivan filed his intention to dispute the allegation, but [Judge] Patton [ex parte] discussed [ . . . the matter] with the Gregorys, [then] entered orders [holding] Sullivan in contempt, the commission found. John Woodward and Vivian Wajda filed a[nother] complaint against Sullivan over a land easement and failure to complete a pond levee. The couple alleged they suffered lost income. The commission said [Judge] Patton wrongly held [Mr.] Sullivan in contempt, resulting in his incarceration in that case as well. The commission also concluded Patton wrongfully had a search warrant issued for Sullivan's son premises.

Sullivan couldn't be reached Wednesday.

The federal lawsuit against Patton stems from a 1997 incident in which Patton accused The federal lawsuit against Patton stems from a 1997 incident in which Patton accused James Jennings Jr. of Mendenhall and Jennings' attorney, J. Keith Shelton, of attempting to bribe him. Jennings and Shelton were indicted, but the charges later were dismissed.  The lawsuit accuses Patton of knowingly making false claims to authorities.

Patton has two opponents in the November general election."
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Election of judges?  Good idea? 

The unspoken story of this Judge is about all the other cases not part of the judicial complaints where his temperament cost, time, money or liberty when justice and the rule of law indicated otherwise. 

I looked at Judge Patton's official biography at the Hinds County website.  Clearly this was a good and worthy lawyer.  At some point, Judge Patton's ego ran ahead of temperament, ethics, and judgment.  When this happened, he cost his constituents the rule of law, it's time for Judge Patton to retire--it's a shame his ego won't let him hear this message. 

Moby Dick Brief

ABAJournal.com reports on the Moby Dick brief filed by federal prosecutors.  The prosecutors object to "sentencing errors" by a U.S. District Judge in Pennsylvania who sentenced former Pa. law maker Vincent Fumo to 55 months (too little), according to prosecutors.  Fumo was at the center of a scandal that rocked and is rocking Pennsylvania.  The appeals court responded to the brief by ordering the angry federal prosecutors to cut their mammoth filing.

I am reminded by this account of the practice of  the Jones Day attorneys for the OurTown diocese. 

Upon receipt of a clergy sex abuse lawsuit filed by me, the Jones Day lawyers would launch a metropolitan-phone-book-sized motion to dismiss and brief which would land on my desk within 30 business days of each new action. Yeah, it was real easy doing what I did in my chosen law practice, and doing it solo.  This was particularly true, when the local judge, often a graduate of one of the diocesan schools reflexively granted the motions, meritorious or not.  When I appealed these rulings it was encouraging that the reviewing appellate panels were populated by jurists who were recipients of the Thomas More awards at the annual Red Masses.  In hindsight, it's amazing that any headway was made in this state.

Alright, I admit it, I'm having a real pity party for myself, today.

I'm going through a banker's box of yellowed newspaper clippings and documents in preparation for my pre-sentence investigation interview, tomorrow.  I'm thinking about the chaos and struggle of my former law practice and I'm also thinking of all the wonderful people along the way swept under the wheels, including colleagues. But I'm especially thinking about brave clients who survived horrific childhoods and traumas and ultimately the callous ignorance of OurState justice.   I'm very angry this today, and I can't afford to be angry.  It's easy to be self-righteous, I'm giving into my ego when I get this way. 

That's what the prosecutors in Pa. are doing with their anger which they manifest Ahab-like with their Moby Dick brief.

More Lawyer Fisticuffs--Ego and Money

The Scranton Pennsylvania Morning Call is reporting on two injury lawyer getting into a punch fest with one another, this is from their report via Above the Law:

An attorney has been charged with assault after authorities say he repeatedly punched his opposing counsel during an argument in a northeastern Pennsylvania courthouse. Police say 46-year-old Michael Rauch threw three roundhouse punches at Scranton attorney John Fisher at the Lackawanna County Courthouse in Scranton [last]  Thursday. The two had been on opposite sides of a civil lawsuit involving a 2003 car crash.

Rauch, of Cherry Hill, N.J., was charged Thursday with simple assault, harassment and disorderly conduct. Court papers say Rauch told sheriff's deputies that he had told Fisher to leave him alone but that he continued to harass him.

Rauch spent the morning in a holding cell and later left the courthouse on $10,000 unsecured bail.
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It's always remarkable when legal professionals get into fisticuffs.  It is always about "respect," someone feels "disrespected," which means it's always about ego.  Since lawyers losing it is always about ego, the throwing of a punch usually works it way back around to being about money.  Ego and money, its always about ego and money. 

Years ago, a sleazy lawyer I worked for was testifying in a divorce (who knows why, let's just say:  it was another era) when an even sleazier lawyer attacked him using his cane swinging wildly and ineffectively. 

In that day and age a lot of strange stuff went unpunsihed and a mere admonishment put an end to the attempted courtroom violence. Now bear with me, the assailant who I'll call Milt Showroon, was merely a part time lawyer; he was also a slum landlord, and a ghetto furniture store owner/operator.  No doubt Milt was brilliant. Both of Milt's sons were both Harvard Law school graduates and became in their own right prominent OurTown practitioners they were from a different era and educational background from their father.  Milt himself had only a passing acquaintance with the law, ethics and professional responsibility.  His career ended a few years after the incident I described after being arrested and prosecuted for discharging a revolver in an ill-advised effort to intimidate a tenant to collect late rents. 

As you no doubt realize if you are a regular reader of Bad Lawyer, Milt Showroom needed the nickles he was trying to collect that afternoon from his ghetto-tenant, when he pulled the six shooter, like the Ocean needs a few more drops of water, or crude.

How to Crush Ego, First Get Rid of the Hair Piece!

Andrew Stein (pic with the obvious toupee`) is a legendary NYC mook, a former Councilman and tax cheat.  Stein has lived a charmed life which may be coming to an end as he's been swept up in the Ponzi scheme run by celebrity investment adviser Ken Starr (no not that . . . Kenneth Starr.)

The NY Daily News story by Michael Daly is a matchless study in the wages of ego and further proof, that every road is a toll road. According to Mr. Daly, in the 1970s Stein was at a Hampton Beach with an heiress who in the surf was caught in an undertow and screaming for assistance from Stein who stood helplessely pointing at the hair piece.  The preening Mr. Stein would not dive in to help her for fear of losing his toupee`, according to Mr. Daly others dove in to rescue her.  

I had a trial instructor at OurTown's elite law school who was a wonderful teacher and better lawyer.  Gerry had a really obnoxious hair piece that fooled no one.  When I got married, my pals took me to the Schvitz for a sweat and bachelor's party.  There was Gerry sans toupee`--bald as a baby's butt.  Thereafter whenever I see a male lawyer in an obvious wig, I remember Gerry.

Part of what made Gerry so memorable, is that the toupee` did not betray the obvious ego-issues evident in Mr. Stein's "comedy."  The Daily News is having a good time speculating on Mr. Stein's mugshot.  I guarantee you that there's a FOIA request for that picture.  When the Daily News obtain and publish the photo, Mr. Stein will have paid part of the toll.

Saffold Gone, Gone, Gone...

As predicted, here, on Bad Lawyer the Ohio Supremes removed Judge Shirley Strickland Saffold from further proceedings in the Cleveland serial killer case.  According to Cleveland.com the Judge was posting comments at their website under several pseudonyms critical of law enforcemnet, public figures, lawyers, and regarding proceedings which were pending before her. 

This story is, perfectly, at the intersection of race, ego, social networking, justice, and ethics.  More to come.

Late Friday morning, Cleveland.com reported that former Cleveland Browns linebacker and currrent Common Pleas Judge drew the re-assignment of the Sowell case.

Crouching At My Door

"If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it"

Maybe you recognize this expression, maybe you don't.  My eyes are open to it almost as if I had never heard it before, and yet I know I've read it countless times.  It is God's injunction to Cain, his warning immediately before Cain kills his brother.  The Old Testament Creator warns Cain in terms we all can understand, and yet do we ever pause to think about what this means in our own lives?

Perhaps I thought God was telling Cain about Satan, or the serpent, or some exterior force, warning Cain not to do what God knew he would do anyway.   Let me be presumptious, I think God was talking about ego (and free will,) and I don't mean Freudian notions of ego; I think God is talking about our distorted projections of self--in fact the sin crouching at our doors is the very thing I've unsuccessfully wrestled with my entire life.  In trying to do good, I again and again gave in to my opponent, my ego, my perverse view of who I am.   Oh, I stood for this or that, but what I did and what I failed to do emanated from my failure to wrestle my darker angel, my opponent, my ego, myself. 

When I embraced the notion of the "criminal under my own hat,"  I was trying to accept a judgment of myself that I heard from the outside.  I knew that I was undertaking a journey, but I did not relaize that this journey would actually bring me within sight of a real self-awareness, or that the self-awareness would be so painful.  Oh, I suspected the legal and disciplinary outcomes would be painful--but, that the genuine insight into who I am would cause me to flinch,  Wow.  I am shaken to my core.  And as I look around, people that I reflexively dismissed as clueless and probabaly not worth the time of day, they turn out to be the ones that have the most insight.  Who am I becoming?  I'm scared, but give me time.