Judicial ethics expert tells of misbehaving judges

After listening to Cynthia Gray talk, the average Utahn probably would be moved to say, "Whew!"

Gray is director of the American Judicature Society (AJS) Center for Judicial Ethics — and does she have some stories to tell. Real life stories, as it turns out, of misbehavior by a handful of judges across the nation.

Gray's organization serves as a national clearinghouse for judicial ethics and disciplinary actions taken by the judicial oversight commissions that exist in every state. She also conducts research and responds to information requests from commissions, attorneys, judges, reporters and others.

Given the numbers of judges in the United States, the ones who commit crimes or misbehave in office are relatively few.

"Across the nation, about 12 a year are removed from office due to judicial conduct commission proceedings," Gray said, adding that some states permit a judge to quietly resign and the case does not become public.

Nationwide, between 100 to 110 judges on average are publicly sanctioned and Gray estimates three or four times that number receive private or informal disciplinary action.

Gray recently addressed the JCC and and several other prominent members of the legal community during its fall symposium and presented a list of some of the most dramatic cases of judicial misconduct Gray has come across in the past year.

They included:

• A New York judge who tried to intercede with other judges to help her friends in two child custody cases. Her defense? "Everybody does it." She was censured for her conduct.

• A California judge who was criminally convicted of fixing traffic tickets for his friends and also gave lenient DUI sentences to cronies. The conduct commission negotiated an agreement resulting in his resignation.

• A Texas judge who celebrated the apprehension of a convicted domestic violence fugitive by throwing a party in her courtroom when he was brought in — complete with a cake, decorations and invitations to the media. The commission in Texas admonished the judge.

• A Washington state judge who was extraordinarily rude and sarcastic with people who represented themselves before her, stating at one point, "If you want to lose, annoy me." She was reprimanded, ordered to take a judicial ethics class and get anger management treatment.