Must. Keep. From. Screaming.
What were they thinking?
Isn’t that the question you ask yourself when reading the exploits of various people who thought that they were, so to speak, “above the law”? They learned the hard way — sometimes, that is the only way peeps learn. The misadventures aren’t pretty to read, but they are instructive. Interesting that many peeps only fess up after being nailed. That applies both to judges and lawyers. How even more interesting that they are willing to risk their professional careers and reputations … for what?
A former Los Angeles County deputy district attorney who was elected (not appointed) to the bench, has been severely benchslapped by the California Commission on Judicial Performance. She received the second-most punitive punishment that the commission metes out, “severe public censure,” the strongest sanction short of removal.
The judge, Emily Cole, presided over a criminal trial and subsequent retrial. During the retrial, before rebuttal, she ex parte texted the district attorney’s office asking why the trial deputy was not calling a particular rebuttal witness. Whoops.
The commission did not mince words:
It is a basic requirement of judicial office to be a neutral and impartial arbiter of the facts and law. Judge Cole’s conduct in sending text messages to her former colleague during a murder trial was antithetical to her role as a judge. She attempted to put a thumb on the scales of justice, crossed the line from an impartial judicial officer to an advocate, and displayed neither neutrality nor wisdom.
Cole stipulated to the discipline. The commission held that Cole’s misconduct “…involved dishonesty and a lack of integrity, and undermined respect for the judiciary, which aggravated the discipline.” Ouch! Do you think she will run for another term?
Is handcuffing an attorney to a chair during a hearing an appropriate sanction if the court doesn’t like something that attorney said or did? Apparently so, at least in Chicago. No “time outs,” no standing in the corner, just straight to the handcuffs. Any anger management issue here? The attorney claims that he was not even allowed to present his client’s position.
Now the judge is facing misconduct allegations and the lawyer has also been referred for possible attorney discipline. Fair is fair, isn’t it?
Back in New Jersey, a Jersey City attorney has been sentenced to more than five years for wire fraud and aggravated identity theft after pleading guilty to a variety of charges.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey recited a number of crimes that the attorney had committed, including stealing from his clients, making false representations in conjunction with a bank loan and separately to the IRS, wire fraud, and failing to file tax returns. The mantra is simple: do the crimes, do the time.
Deep in the heart of Texas, an assistant district attorney was arrested after he allegedly pulled a gun on his roommate.
The cause of the dispute? The ADA had trouble streaming porn, asked the roommate for help, which he provided, then the ADA subsequently allegedly pointed a gun at him. (I am not making this up.) I think we can all share the ADA’s frustration with streaming technology, but how many of us would go further than that? Never mind, res ipsa loquitur.
It’s been at least several months since I have written anything about Tom Girardi and the allegations that he misappropriated client funds for his own use, which has been front page news here and elsewhere. There’s a lot going on.
Girardi is set to go on trial in early August along with the firm’s former CFO. However, Girardi’s defense team has indicated that at least part of the defense will be to put the finger of blame on the CFO, alleging that the CFO ran a “side fraud,” that is, he allegedly embezzled millions of dollars from the firm using sham vendors and spending those funds on various personal purposes. This is what I call the “SODDI” defense (“Some other dude did it.”). The likelihood that the two men will be tried together dims.
The prosecution intends to show (although no evidence was provided at the hearing last week) that Girardi siphoned millions of dollars in client funds to bolster his wife’s career as a singer and a Real Housewife of Beverly Hills. The defense also has made a motion to suppress evidence that the Girardi bankruptcy trustee has turned over to the prosecution, claiming that no search warrant was ever obtained for those records. Lots of pretrial maneuvering still to come.
Lawyers and judges never cease to surprise and not in good ways. Ex parte texting, disorder in the court, off to the joint, using a gun and probably losing your job, allegedly embezzling client funds. What else? Don’t ask.
Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.