Misconduct Report: April 2015

The Misconduct Report
A monthly round-up of notable judicial misconduct allegations

May 7, 2015

By: State Courts Staff

One judge faces ethics complaint for failed recusals, one judge charged with misuse of judicial office, and a third judge publicly reprimanded for courtroom behavior.

The Judicial Misconduct Report is a monthly report discussing select state-level judges facing formal misconduct charges. The report discusses notable charges of judicial misconduct from the past month and offers updates on pending and resolved cases. Unless otherwise noted, any misconduct charges should be considered allegations.

News

Ethics complaint filed against Supreme Court judge

Robin Jean Davis: In April 2015, former Republican gubernatorial candidate Bill Maloney filed an ethics complaint against Chief Justice Robin Jean Davis of the West Virginia Supreme Court for her failure to recuse herself from the case Manor Care v. Tom Douglas. Davis wrote the majority opinion for the case, which involved an 87-year-old woman who died after being admitted to the Manor Care nursing home facility. A jury awarded the woman's family $90 million, which was later reduced to $48 million by the court. It was later revealed that the attorney for the woman's family, Michael Fuller, had contributed $35,000 to Davis' election campaign and had also negotiated the sale of a Learjet for $1.2 million from Davis' husband.

In a statement, Maloney argued that “[t]he relationship between personal injury lawyers and the West Virginia judiciary has moved from cozy to unethical...[t]he taxpayers have an expectation of fairness and impartiality from our judges."

Davis, in return, denied knowing Fuller outside of his role as the plaintiff's attorney in the case, adding that Fuller's contribution of $35,000 was nominal when compared with the $1.3 million she spent on her campaign. As for her husband's Learjet sale, Davis stated that the business association between them was limited and that there had been no other business dealings.

Formal charges filed against judge for wrongful use of judicial office

Jackie L. Fulford: On April 27, 2015, the Florida Judicial Qualifications Commission filed formal charges against Judge Jackie L. Fulford, a judge on the Second Circuit Court, for using her judicial office to influence attorneys, for the appearance of impropriety caused by her close friendship with Wakulla County Sheriff David Harvey, for opposing a candidate publicly during elections, and for interjecting herself in a domestic battery case involving the son of her significant other.

The commission found that Fulford's actions constituted a violation of the Florida Code of Judicial Conduct and "taken collectively...constitute a pattern of misconduct which raises serious questions regarding [her] fitness to perform the duties of the office [she] now holds." Fulford has 20 days to file her answer to the charges.

Judge publicly reprimanded for courtroom conduct

Michael Seiler: On April 24, 2015, Judge Michael Seiler of the 435th District Court in Texas was publicly reprimanded by the Texas Commission on Judicial Conduct for his conduct and behavior toward attorneys in his courtroom who represented sex offenders. Specifically, the commission found that Seiler "engaged in numerous instances in which he treated attorneys from the State Counsel for Offenders office, as well as one of their expert witnesses, in a manner that was less than patient, dignified and courteous." The commission found that Seiler told one attorney she was "wasting everyone's time" and "had a 'law degree' and needed to 'use it'"; when she tried to make an objection, Seiler stated he would throw her out of his courtroom. Similarly, to another attorney representing an indigent defendant, Seiler made comments such as "I’m not going to let you practice in my court" and "if you’re not going to do that, I’m going to have you thrown out of my courtroom.” To a third attorney, representing a homosexual defendant, Seiler stated that the attorney "would soon not have a job in this county," and told the attorney to stop questioning the jury panel since "Nobody here is going to admit to liking homosexuals.” According to the Houston Chronicle, Seiler has "virtually sole jurisdiction over the state's troubled treatment program for violent sexual predators."

The commission also reprimanded Seiler for his conduct during a Texas Patriots PAC meeting, where he discussed previous cases over which he had presided and described various defendants as "psychopath individuals," a "cheerleader killer" and a "pedophile rapist." He also identified the defendants by their names and displayed photos of them for the audience. The commission further ordered that Seiler complete fours hours of training with a mentor judge in the areas of "the appropriate treatment of attorneys, witnesses, and others with whom the judge deals in an official capacity," "avoiding bias and the appearance of bias," and "avoiding extrajudicial conduct that casts doubt on a judge’s capacity to act impartially and/or interferes with the proper performance of the judge’s duties."

See also

• Misconduct Report
• The Judicial Update
• JP Election Brief