The Judicial Conduct Commission is seeking a public reprimand for a 7th District judge because he had contact outside the courtroom with a woman he had sentenced, including a congratulatory card, a gift of roses and visits to her home and his chambers.

There was no romantic relationship between 7th District Judge Bruce Halliday and Natalie Blanton, but the judge's behavior violates the code of ethics judges must abide by, according to a document the JCC filed with the Utah Supreme Court.

The JCC investigates claims of judicial misbehavior and can take certain actions itself. But in serious cases, the JCC makes recommendations to the high court for action.

"Judge Halliday's actions were driven by his goal of reducing recidivism and were well-intentioned," the JCC document said.

However, the JCC unanimously voted that Halliday's contacts with Blanton are not permitted, they created the appearance of impropriety and they brought his judicial office into disrepute because they constitute behavior prejudicial to the administration of justice.

Halliday's lawyer, Ron Yengich, disagrees: "This is a very, very good judge. He's a decent, hard-working man."

Yengich said Halliday was simply trying, with few resources provided by the state, to encourage someone with a drug problem to succeed at probation and keep her family together.

"I know his point was to try to come up with a process with people that were coming repeatedly before him where he could give them a carrot and a stick," Yengich said. "The JCC concluded anything that's done outside the courtroom itself, contact between a judge and a probationer is improper and violates the rules. I disagree with that, particularly with the finding that his motives were pure."

Yengich said Blanton's husband was "adamant" that the judge's encouragement was what helped her conquer her problems. Yengich said if anything, the judge should simply have been told "there's a better way" to assist people with substance abuse problems rather than face the possibility of a public reprimand.

Blanton, 30, was a defendant in three criminal cases in 2001 and 2002 presided over by Halliday. He sentenced her to prison but suspended that and ordered her to spend a year in jail before her probation began.

However, Halliday "was concerned about the impact of Blanton's incarceration on her family," which included three young children, one of whom was an infant, the JCC document says. The judge also was worried whether Blanton's husband could physically and financially care for the family while Blanton was in jail.

Blanton was on probation from June 2003 to November 2004, when it was successfully ended.