This week on Weird and Wacky Wednesdays: When Judges Forget They Are Judges
Judges hold enormous power. They control courtrooms, decide liberty, and are trusted to follow rules even when no one is watching. Most do. Some forget where the line is. This week’s stories share a common theme: judges who appeared to forget that wearing a robe does not turn you into a dispatcher, a police officer, or someone above the criminal law.
Texas: The Judge Who Didn’t Quite Appear
In Texas, a judge received a public reprimand after a remote court hearing revealed something odd. The judge was not visibly present. Instead, her court coordinator appeared on screen and spoke during the hearing. At points, the coordinator answered when addressed as “Your Honour.”
The explanation later offered was that the judge was present by phone and the coordinator was simply relaying information. That detail was not made clear to the lawyers or participants at the time. The judicial conduct commission found the situation unacceptable. A judge conducts hearings. Staff do not.
Wisconsin: The Judge Who Tried to Make the Arrest Himself
In Wisconsin, a judge decided the usual tools of the justice system were not moving fast enough. Rather than issuing a warrant or leaving matters to law enforcement, he left the bench and attempted to personally arrest a defendant.
The defendant was not fleeing. He was hospitalized.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court stepped in quickly. The judge was suspended by the Chief Justice. The issue was not enthusiasm. It was role confusion. Judges do not arrest people. Judges do not leave court to chase defendants. There are centuries of institutional reasons for keeping those jobs separate.
The system depends on that separation.
Pennsylvania: When Judicial Misconduct Becomes Violent Crime
Then there is the Pennsylvania case that needs no embellishment. A sitting magistrate judge was convicted of attempted homicide after shooting her former boyfriend while he slept.
This was not an ethics complaint or a reprimand. This was a jury verdict. The judge had already been suspended over prior misconduct when the shooting occurred. After trial, she was convicted of attempted murder and related charges.
Judicial power works when it is restrained. When judges forget the limits of their role, the system reacts. Sometimes with discipline. Sometimes with suspension. Sometimes with prison.
Occasionally a Canadian judge crosses the line, but thankfully our system usually deals with it quickly. Judges are subject to criminal law like everyone else and one would think, knowing the law, you wouldn’t violate the most important law of the land
And if you ever find yourself in a courtroom where the judge is missing, impersonated, or trying to arrest someone personally, remember the safest legal advice remains unchanged.
Say nothing. Ask for a lawyer. Let the system sort itself out.
See you next Wednesday.
