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G. Todd Baugh
G. Todd Baugh was a judge for the 13th District Court in Montana. He was elected to a new seat in 1984 and ran unopposed for re-election in 1990, 1996, 2002 and 2008. He retired at the end of his final term in December 2014.[1][2] Baugh stated that his decision to retire had nothing to do with his controversial sentence of Stacey Rambold (see story below).[3][4]
Education
Baugh received his B.A. degree in economics from Rice University in 1964 and his law degree (LL.B.) from the University of Texas at Austin in 1967. He was admitted to the bar in 1967.[5][6]
Career
Baugh spent seventeen years as an attorney in general practice before his election to the district court in 1984.[6]
Awards and associations
- 2015: Lifetime Achievement Award, Yellowstone Area Bar Association[7]
- The Yellowstone Area Bar Association's decision to give this award to Baugh met with some hostility due to his controversial ruling. The nonprofit anti-sexism organization Ultraviolet paid for a traveling billboard which displayed their disapproval over the bar's choice to award the former judge. The billboard read, "Controversial Montana judge who blamed teen rape victim to receive lifetime achievement award," and "Tell the Yellowstone Area Bar Association: #NoHonor4Baugh."[8] Yellowstone Area Bar Association President Jessica Fehr issued a statement on April 28.
| “ | The Yellowstone Area Bar Association (“YABA”) is a private organization of attorneys in the greater Yellowstone County area. Every year, the YABA Board recognizes a longstanding member of our organization at our annual meeting. This year, the YABA Board has chosen to highlight Judge Baugh's past dedication to the Billings community and the legal profession. Judge Baugh was sworn in as an attorney in 1967 and took the bench in 1984. While we recognize that Judge Baugh made a very public mistake in the Rambold case, as a Board, we feel his more than 30 years of service to our community and our profession is worthy of recognition.[9] | ” |
| —Jessica Fehr[8] | ||
Noteworthy cases
Teacher sentenced to 30 days in jail for rape of a student
Judge Baugh issued a controversial ruling on August 26, 2013, sentencing former high-school teacher, Stacey Dean Rambold to 30 days in jail for the rape of student Cherice Moralez.[10]
Rambold was charged with three counts of sexual intercourse without consent in 2008. At the time of their relationship, Rambold was 47 and Moralez was 14. However, while the case was still pending, Moralez committed suicide, just prior to her 17th birthday. This put the case on hold and an agreement to dismiss the charges was made if Rambold met certain conditions, including the completion of a treatment program for sex offenders. Rambold did, however, admit to one of the rape charges.[10]
The case resurfaced at the end of 2014, after Rambold was terminated from the treatment program. He was kicked out after breaking a number of rules, including unsupervised visits with minors (even though they were his family members) and failing to inform his counselors about his sexual relations.[11]
Chief Deputy County Attorney Rod Souza asked for a sentence of 20 years in prison with 10 years suspended. Instead, Judge Baugh sentenced Rambold to 15 years in prison, with all but 31 days suspended. One of those days of jail time was credited back to Rambold for time already served.[12]
Judge Baugh has stated that he thought Moralez was "as much in control of the situation" as Rambold and that she seemed "older than her chronological age."[13][14] He defended his ruling, explaining:
| “ | Obviously, a 14-year-old can't consent. I think that people have in mind that this was some violent, forcible, horrible rape...It was horrible enough as it is just given her age, but it wasn't this forcible beat-up rape.[15][9] | ” |
Re-sentencing blocked by supreme court
On September 3, 2013, amidst national uproar, Judge Baugh said that he'd made a mistake in his sentencing of Stacey Rambold. He explained that he had misread state law, which would have made his 20-year jail sentence, with all but 30 days suspended, illegal. A new sentencing hearing was scheduled for September 6.[16]
Prosecutors asked the Montana Supreme Court to overturn Baugh's sentence.[17] Less than one hour before the second sentencing hearing was to start, on September 6, the supreme court ruled that Baugh could not modify the decision he had already handed down. This stopped the rehearing. The court's ruling explained:
| “ | We conclude that the stated intent of the District Court to alter the initially imposed oral sentence in today’s scheduled hearing is unlawful...We take no position on the legality of the imposed sentence and will address the parties’ arguments in that regard on appeal.[18][9] | ” |
State supreme court overturns sentence
Judge Baugh's sentence of Rambold was overturned by the Montana Supreme Court on April 30, 2014. Justice Michael E. Wheat wrote in the opinion: "The district court lacked authority to suspend all but 31 days of Rambold's sentence."[19]
The court pointed out that the state's law requires a minimum sentence of four years in prison for anyone guilty of raping a victim under the age of 16. Also, no more than two years of that sentence may be suspended. Judge Baugh sentenced Rambold to 15 years with all but 31 days suspended. The case was sent to a new judge for re-sentencing.[19]
Rambold resentenced to 10 years in prison
Rambold was resentenced by Judge Randal I. Spaulding on September 26, 2014, after Baugh's sentence was overturned by the state supreme court. Spaulding suspended five years of Rambold's 15-year term for a total of 10 years in prison--significantly greater than his colleague's initial sentence of 31 days.[20]
Noteworthy events
Baugh censured for remarks
According to the Associated Press, Baugh admitted that the comments he made during a sentencing hearing regarding 14-year old rape victim Cherice Moralez (see case above) violated judicial ethics rules in the state. However, he asserted the proper punishment for his misconduct was censure, not removal from the bench. Baugh noted the Montana Judicial Nominating Commission would recommend to the Montana Supreme Court that he be censured for his comment. Baugh went on to say,
| “ | I can understand the appearance of impropriety, but I wasn't trying to blame the victim. . .[21][9] | ” |
Baugh reportedly stated in a letter to the Judicial Standards Commission that he believed the sentence for Rambold was "fair."
Supreme court censure
The Montana Supreme Court censured Judge Baugh on June 4, 2014, and suspended him without pay for his final month in office. The 31-day suspension began on December 1, 2014. The court surpassed the request of the Judicial Standards Commission that Baugh be publicly censured by adding the suspension.
The discipline primarily focused on Baugh's comment that the rape victim was "older than her chronological age." The opinion, penned by Chief Justice Mike McGrath, stated:
| “ | Judge Baugh’s comments in open court in this case disregarded longstanding Montana law that a person under the age of 16 is legally incapable of consenting to sexual intercourse. His assertion that the victim was “older than her chronological age” is inconsistent with Montana law categorizing child victims of sexual offenses based on their chronological age alone, rather than on subjective perceptions of physical maturity and situational control. In addition, Judge Baugh’s later attempt to retract his sentence and rationale was inconsistent with Montana law. Finally, Judge Baugh made additional inappropriate public statements attempting to justify his actions. Through his unlawful sentence, inappropriate rationale, and subsequent public comments, Judge Baugh has eroded public confidence in the judiciary and created an appearance of impropriety, therefore violating the Montana Code of Judicial Conduct. He has caused Montana citizens, as well as others, to question the fairness of our justice system and whether prejudice or bias affected the outcome of the Rambold case. There is no place in the Montana judiciary for perpetuating the stereotype that women and girls are responsible for sexual crimes committed against them.[9] | ” |
| —Chief Justice Mike McGrath, Montana Supreme Court[22] | ||
Justice Laurie McKinnon was the lone dissenter. She was in favor of adopting the commission's recommendation of censure without suspension because she felt that the harsher sentence was given due to "public outcry" rather than being grounded in rules or analysis.[22][23]
Baugh appeared before the court on July 22, 2014, to be publicly reprimanded.[24]
See also
External links
- New York Daily News, "Montana judge sentences ex-teacher to 30 days for sex with teen who committed suicide," August 27, 2013
- KTVQ, "Rambold asks Supreme Court to affirm rape sentence," February 28, 2014
Footnotes
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Judges stand for election, but rarely against any one," February 9, 2008
- ↑ Montana Judicial Branch, "13th District Court," accessed January 13, 2015
- ↑ Associated Press, "Montana Judge Criticized in Rape Case to Retire," January 7, 2013
- ↑ KXLH Channel 9, "Judge Baugh will retire at end of 2014," January 7, 2013
- ↑ Martindale.com, "Judge Profile: G. Todd Baugh," accessed January 13, 2015
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Montana Supreme Court, "Annual Report," 1995 Scroll to p.10
- ↑ KRTV.com, "Retired Montana judge, censured over rape comments, will receive award from Yellowstone Area Bar Association," April 24, 2015
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 KTVQ.com, "Group takes aim at award for retired Billings judge," May 28, 2015
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Missoulian, "Montana Supreme Court reprimands judge for rape comments," July 23, 2014
- ↑ Huffington Post, "Ex-Teacher Stacey Rambold, Who Got Just 1 Month For Rape Of Teen, To Be Re-Sentenced," accessed November 3, 2015
- ↑ Missoulian, "Rambold re-sentenced to 10 years for rape of student who committed suicide," September 27, 2014
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Former Senior High teacher gets 30 days for rape of student," August 26, 2013
- ↑ New York Daily News, "Montana judge sentences ex-teacher to 30 days for sex with teen who committed suicide," August 27, 2013
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 USA Today, "Judge defends 30-day sentence for teacher who raped girl," August 28, 2013
- ↑ NBC - U.S. News, "Embattled Montana judge orders new sentencing for teacher convicted of sex with student," September 3, 2013
- ↑ Reuters, "Montana appeals 30-day rape sentence for former teacher," September 4, 2013
- ↑ Los Angeles Times, "Montana Supreme Court blocks judge's bid to resentence rapist," September 6, 2013
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 Reuters, "Montana top court overturns teacher's one-month rape sentence," April 30, 2014
- ↑ USA Today, "Ex-teacher resentenced to prison for raping teen," September 26, 2014
- ↑ ABA Journal, "Judge admits violating ethics with remarks about 14-year-old rape victim, but argues against removal," December 4, 2013
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 KRTV, "Supreme Court Opinion: Inquiry concerning complaint of the Judicial Standards Commission," June 4, 2014
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Supreme Court orders suspension, public censure for Judge Baugh," June 4, 2014
- ↑ Ravalli Republic, "Montana Supreme Court reprimands judge for rape comments," July 23, 2014
Federal courts:
Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Montana • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Montana
State courts:
Montana Supreme Court • Montana District Courts • Montana Courts of Limited Jurisdiction • Montana Water Court • Montana Workers' Compensation Court
State resources:
Courts in Montana • Montana judicial elections • Judicial selection in Montana
