Judicial misconduct

Instances when a judge acts unethically

Not to be confused with Miscarriage of justice.

The examples and perspective in this article deal primarily with the United States and do not represent a worldwide view of the subject. You may improve this article, discuss the issue on the talk page, or create a new article, as appropriate. (October 2008) (Learn how and when to remove this message)

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Criminal law
Elements

* Actus reus
* Mens rea
* Causation
* Concurrence

Scope of criminal liability

* Accessory
* Accomplice
* Complicity
* Corporate
* Mandated reporter
* Principal
* Use of force continuum
* Vicarious

Severity of offense

* Felony (or Indictable offense)
* Misdemeanor (or Summary offense)
* Infraction (also called violation)

Inchoate offenses

* Attempt
* Conspiracy
* Incitement
* Solicitation

Offense against the person

* Assassination
* Assault
* Battery
* Child abuse
* Concealment of a corpse
* Criminal negligence
* Domestic violence
* False imprisonment
* Frameup
* Harassment
* Street
* Home invasion
* Hate crime
* Homicide
* Human trafficking
* Intimidation
* Kidnapping
* Manslaughter (corporate)
* Mayhem
* Murder
* felony
* Homicide
* Negligent homicide
* Reckless homicide
* Robbery
* Stalking
* Stabbing
* Torture

Sexual offenses

* Adultery
* Bigamy
* Child sexual abuse
* Cybersex trafficking
* Fornication
* Homosexuality
* Groping
* Incest
* Indecent exposure
* Masturbation
* Obscenity
* Prostitution
* Rape
* Pederasty
* Sex trafficking
* Sexual assault
* Sexual harassment
* Sexual slavery
* Voyeurism

Crimes against property

* Arson
* Arms trafficking
* Blackmail
* Bribery
* Burglary
* Cybercrime
* Embezzlement
* Extortion
* False pretenses
* Forgery
* Fraud
* Gambling
* Intellectual property violation
* Larceny
* Looting
* Payola
* Pickpocketing
* Possessing stolen property
* Robbery
* Smuggling
* Parallel import
* Tax evasion
* Theft
* Trespass to land
* Vandalism
* Mischief

Crimes against justice

* Against public justice
* Justice delayed
* Compounding
* Contempt
* Malfeasance in office
* Miscarriage of justice
* Judicial misconduct
* Misprision
* Perjury
* Perverting the course of justice

Crimes against the public

* Apostasy
* Corruption
* Censorship violation
* Dueling
* Genocide
* Ethnic cleansing
* Hostage-taking
* Illegal immigration
* People smuggling
* Insider trading
* Smuggling
* Illegal consumption (such as drugs, alcohol, and smoking)
* Miscegenation
* Piracy
* Political corruption
* Regicide
* Terrorism
* Unreported employment
* Usurpation
* War crimes

Crimes against animals

* Cruelty to animals
* Poaching
* Wildlife smuggling
* Bestiality

Crimes against the state

* Lèse-majesté
* Treason
* Espionage
* Secession
* Sedition
* Subversion

Defenses to liability

* Actual innocence
* Automatism
* Consent
* Defense of property
* Diminished responsibility
* Duress
* Entrapment
* Ignorantia juris non excusat
* Infancy
* Insanity
* Intoxication
* Justification
* Might makes right
* Mistake (of law)
* Necessity
* Possession is nine-tenths of the law
* Provocation
* Sanctuary
* Self-defense
* Statute of limitations

Other common-law areas

* Contracts
* Defenses
* Evidence
* Property
* Torts
* Wills, trusts and estates

Portals

* Law

* v
* t
* e

Professional responsibility

Duties to the client

* Confidentiality

* Avoiding conflict of interest

* Due diligence and Competence (law)

* Avoid commingling

* Avoid self-dealing

* Effective assistance

* Avoid fee splitting

* Withdrawal from representation

Duties to the court

* Disclosure of perjury

* Disclosure of adverse authority

Duties to the profession

* Limitations on legal advertising

* Report misconduct

Sources of law

* ABA Model Rules

Penalties for misconduct

* Disbarment
* Judicial misconduct

* v
* t
* e

Judicial misconduct occurs when a judge acts in ways that are considered unethical or otherwise violate the judge's obligations of impartial conduct.

Actions that can be classified as judicial misconduct include: conduct prejudicial to the effective and expeditious administration of the business of the courts (as an extreme example: "falsification of facts" at summary judgment); using the judge's office to obtain special treatment for friends or relatives; accepting bribes, gifts, or other personal favors related to the judicial office; having improper discussions with parties or counsel for one side in a case; treating litigants or attorneys in a demonstrably egregious and hostile manner; violating other specific, mandatory standards of judicial conduct, such as judicial rules of procedure or evidence, or those pertaining to restrictions on outside income and requirements for financial disclosure; and acting outside the jurisdiction of the court, or performance of official duties if the conduct might have a prejudicial effect on the administration of the business of the courts among reasonable people. Rules of official misconduct also include rules concerning disability, which is a temporary or permanent condition rendering a judge unable to discharge the duties of the particular judicial office.[1]

## In India

[edit]

Justice C. S. Karnan was sentenced to six months of imprisonment by the Supreme Court of India, holding him guilty of contempt of court. He was the first Indian High Court judge to be sent to prison for contempt while in office.[2][3]

## In the United Kingdom

[edit]

In the UK, judicial misconduct is investigated by the Judicial Conduct Investigations Office. [disputed - discuss]

## In the United States

[edit]

A judicial investigative committee is a panel of judges selected to investigate a judicial misconduct complaint against a judge accused of judicial misconduct. Judicial investigative committees are rarely appointed. According to U.S. Court statistics, only 18 of the 1,484 judicial misconduct complaints filed in the United States Courts between September 2004 and September 2007 resulted in the formation of judicial investigative committees.[4]

### Notable cases and misconduct allegations

[edit]

* 1965 Oklahoma Supreme Court scandal
* Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12]
* United States Supreme Court Justice Samuel Chase, who was acquitted on articles of impeachment[13]
* Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court Roy Moore
* Chief Justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court David A. Brock
* District Judge Shelley M. Richmond Joseph
* Kids for cash scandal
* New Jersey Appellate Division Judge Carmen H. Alvarez, widow of Atlantic County Judge Edgar R Holmes, sued in United States Federal Court for conspiring with Mercer County Superior Court Judge Mary Jacobson and others to violate and deprive Plaintiff Jon S. Ehrlich of his civil rights. Another defendant, Camden New Jersey Superior Court Judge Michael J. Kassel, was later reprimanded for being unprepared; failing to maintain impartiality; and acting unprofessionally. Kassel's statement of ignorance of the law and comments about not reading the papers, cited in the ACJC complaint against him,[14] were identical to what he previously told Plaintiff when he dismissed a legal malpractice claim against one negligent attorney, while simultaneously failing to bother ruling on 2/3 of Plaintiff's counts.[15] Despite the failures of Kassel, as part of the conspiracy to shield the court and corrupt colleagues, Judge Alvarez affirmed Kassel's decision. In furthering the conspiracy, Judge Alvarez affirmed Judge Jacobson's decision disregarding Judge Dennis McInerney's commission of Federal and state crimes in looting and dissipating the assets of a multi-million dollar estate after being appointed as CTA by his close friend Burlington County Superior Court Judge Michael Hogan, who acted in direct violation of various iterations of NJ Court Directive 11-18[16] and the NJ Code of Judicial Conduct. The Federal suit was dismissed with 3rd Circuit Appeal based on Absolute Immunity, a doctrine that has been galvanized by judges for judges over hundreds of years.[17][18]
* Burlington County, New Jersey Presiding Municipal Judge Dennis P. McInerney\- Federal judge blasts township court for jailing man who couldn't pay littering fine[19][20]
* In re James D. Heiple, No. 97 CC 1 (4/30/1997) (Respondent, Chief Justice of the Illinois Supreme Court, was censured for conduct that is prejudicial to the administration of justice and brings the judicial office into disrepute for violating the Code of Judicial Conduct, Illinois Supreme Court Rules 61 and 62(A). Specifically, Respondent belligerently volunteered information that he was a member of the judiciary (e.g., "Do you know who you are talking to?" "Do you know who I am?") after being detained by police who suspected that he had violated traffic laws. Moreover, on three occasions, Respondent displayed an Illinois Supreme Court Justice identification credential to law enforcement to avoid receiving traffic citations. Respondent knew or should have known that communicating such information was likely to influence the officers who were investigating him and would be perceived by them as an attempt to use his judicial office to preclude being charged with traffic violations.)

## See also

[edit]

* Disbarment
* Duty to report misconduct
* Judicial activism
* Judicial corruption
* Judicial immunity
* Judicial interpretation
* Judicial murder
* Kangaroo court
* Legal abuse
* Malfeasance in office
* Sentencing disparity

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Judicial Misconduct Rules – United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit
2. ^ Mittal, Priyanka; Vishwanath, Apurva (10 May 2017). "Supreme Court sentences justice C.S. Karnan to 6 months imprisonment". Livemint. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
3. ^ Rajagopal, Krishnadas (9 May 2017). "SC sentences Justice Karnan to six months imprisonment". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
4. ^ From nude photos to lying: Federal judges under scrutiny Houston Chronicle, October 13, 2008
5. ^ "Troubling trend: When Michigan judges need disciplining". USA TODAY. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
6. ^ "Ex-Judge Trading Robes For Prison Garb". The Huffington Post. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
7. ^ "Ex-Justice Diane Hathaway Sentenced To Prison For Real Estate Fraud -- AOL Real Estate". AOL Real Estate Blog. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
8. ^ "Judge Diane Hathaway's Lawyer on Her Bank Fraud: 'It was Dumb'". www.deadlinedetroit.com. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
9. ^ "Ex-Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway will remain in prison". WDIV. 29 April 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
10. ^ "Let Me Go Home, Ex-Justice Diane Hathaway Pleads To Judge From Prison". www.deadlinedetroit.com. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
11. ^ "Former Michigan Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway released from federal prison". MLive.com. 23 May 2014. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
12. ^ Jones, Ross. "Fmr. Supreme Court Justice Diane Hathaway released from Camp Cupcake". WXYZ. Archived from the original on 2016-02-24. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
13. ^ "1801: Senate Tries Supreme Court Justice". www.senate.gov. Retrieved 2016-02-16.
14. ^ "Michael Kassel Formal Complaint" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2023-01-14. Retrieved 2023-06-20.
15. ^ Wildstein, David (2023-06-01). "Superior Court judge reprimanded for unprofessional behavior". New Jersey Globe. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
16. ^ "Judges Reporting Personal or Immediate Family Involvement in Litigation; Changes in Venue | NJ Courts". www.njcourts.gov. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
17. ^ "Ehrlich v. Alvarez, No. 21-2342 | Casetext Search + Citator". casetext.com. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
18. ^ "Judicial Immunity | Encyclopedia.com". www.encyclopedia.com. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
19. ^ "Federal judge blasts township court for jailing man who couldn't pay littering fine". ABA Journal. Retrieved 2024-02-13.
20. ^ "Top judge to courts: Don't use big fines to raise cash for towns". nj. 2018-04-19. Retrieved 2024-02-13.

## External links

[edit]

* Above the Law: Judicial Misconduct – Site specializing in news on the topic

* v
* t
* e

Miscarriage of justice

Types of misconduct|

* Prosecutorial misconduct
* Police misconduct
* Police corruption
* Selective prosecution
* Malicious prosecution
* Selective enforcement
* Abuse of process
* Attorney misconduct
* Bad apples
* Abuse of discretion
* Entrapment
* False arrest
* Gaming the system
* Justice delayed is justice denied
* Legal malpractice
* Kangaroo court
* Sentencing disparity
* Show trial
* Trial by media
* Sharp practice
* Jury tampering
* Witness tampering
* Brady disclosure
* Spoliation of evidence
* Civil wrong

False evidence|

* False confession
* Forced confession
* False accusation
* Rape
* Child sexual abuse
* Police perjury
* Mistaken identity
* Eyewitness memory
* Eyewitness identification
* Cross-race effect
* Misinformation effect
* Tampering with evidence
* Frameup

Wrongful convictions|

* List of wrongful convictions in the United States
* List of exonerated death row inmates
* List of miscarriage of justice cases
* Overturned convictions in the United States
* Wrongful execution

Advocacy|

* Innocence Project
* National Registry of Exonerations
* Investigating Innocence

Contributing factors|

* Correlates of crime
* Race and crime
* Race in the United States criminal justice system
* Sex differences in crime
* Judicial misconduct
* Innocent prisoner's dilemma
* Obstructionism
* Offender profiling
* Racial profiling
* Perverting the course of justice
* Blue wall of silence
* Loophole
* Ineffective assistance of counsel
* Prosecutor's fallacy

Norms and remedies|

* Legal ethics
* Exculpatory evidence
* Right to a fair trial
* Actual innocence
* Equal Protection Clause
* Innocence Protection Act

Related concepts|

* Capital punishment in the United States
* Batson v. Kentucky
* List of death row inmates in the United States

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