Top 5 List of Real-Life Judicial Misconduct

September 26, 2014

By: Jong Son

Real examples of judicial misconduct are highlighted on profile pages and the monthly Misconduct Report on Judgepedia. On October 2, however, art will imitate life. The foibles of a woman who presides over criminal court cases in Los Angeles is the premise of a new sitcom that will air Thursday nights on NBC.

Bad Judge stars Kate Walsh (Grey’s Anatomy, Private Practice) as Judge Rebecca Wright, a wild child with a reputation for creative rulings and unorthodox behavior in court. One of the show's producers is funny man Will Ferrell and the premiere is co-written by actress Anne Heche. But the premise is unfortunately not a stretch.

Recently, judges across the U.S. have been caught in domestic violence disputes, drinking and driving and fistfights with attorneys. With a nod to the premiere of Bad Judge, here is Judgepedia.org's Top 5 List of Real-Life Judicial Misconduct:

Mike Maggio

On September 11, 2014, the Arkansas Supreme Court ordered the immediate removal of Twentieth Circuit Court Judge Mike Maggio from the bench. Maggio's infractions included providing information about a confidential adoption and making various comments that were considered sexist, racist, perverse and homophobic.

Maggio's most damaging comments were left on a Louisiana State University message board under the username "geauxjudge." There, he contributed such statements as: “OT ballers just gamble like Arabs, drink like Indians, and do the humpty-hump like rabbits” and “Women look at 2 bulges on a man, one in the front of the pants or second one in the back pocket. Whichever one is bigger they can do without the other.”

On the same message board, Maggio also provided details regarding the actress Charlize Theron's single-parent adoption, that was being overseen by another judge on the court. Maggio wrote: "I offered to be the baby daddy," and "Did she get herself a black baby? Yep."

In addition to his disrobing, Maggio agreed to never serve as a judge or run for a judicial office again.

Wade Harper McCree

Judge Wade Harper McCree, formerly of the 3rd Circuit Court in Wayne County, Michigan, was removed from the bench for conducting an affair with Geniene La’Shay Mott, a party to a child support case over which McCree was presiding. McCree failed to recuse himself from her case while he engaged in sexual intercourse with Mott in his judicial chambers and traded lurid texts with her while working. McCree previously garnered some notoriety for sending a half-nude photo of himself to a court bailiff, and thus earning the moniker "shirtless judge." When confronted for a statement, McCree only responded with: “Hot dog” and “[t]here’s no shame in my game.” McCree was suspended without pay in May 2013 during the course of the investigation. The Michigan Supreme Court officially removed him from the bench on March 26, 2014, and ordered him to pay $12,000 in fines.

WXVZ Detroit: Judge McCree hearing underway

John C. Murphy

Judge John C. Murphy of Brevard County, Florida, made headlines in June 2014, when he was recorded on camera challenging a public defender to a fistfight. Andrew Weinstock, the public defender acting in the normal course of representation, had refused to have his client waive the right to a trial. This set off a number of heated remarks which included Judge Murphy stating: "You know, if I had a rock, I would throw it at you right now." When Weinstock refused to sit down, Judge Murphy then told him: "If you want to fight, let’s go out back and I’ll just beat your ass."

The two then took it outside of the courtroom, and what followed was not caught on camera. However, sounds of impact could be heard clearly on the recording, and initial reports accused Murphy of punching Weinstock in the face. Deputy Bryon Griffin, who was at the scene, described it as follows:

“	I stepped into the back hallway and saw the two of them grabbing ahold of each other's suitcoat, pushing each other back and forth...I heard Judge Murphy say, ‘Do you wanna f-ck with me, do you?’ and I heard Mr. Weinstock say, ‘Alright.' I immediately stepped in and separated the two of them as they still had a grasp on each other.	”
—Deputy Bryon Griffin

Murphy later apologized in an open letter to the county's residents. However, on August 13, 2014, Florida's Judicial Qualifications Commission proceeded with formal charges against Murphy for his conduct while on the bench.

Joan Orie Melvin

On May 18, 2012, former Pennsylvania Supreme Court Justice Joan Orie Melvin was indicted by a grand jury for utilizing her staff at the superior court during her campaigns for the supreme court in 2003 and 2009. In addition, she was accused of being directly involved in using the campaign staff of her sister, former state Senator Jane Orie, to benefit her own campaigns.

On February 21, 2013, a jury found Orie Melvin guilty of felony theft of services, conspiracy to commit theft of services, misdemeanor misapplication of government property, and conspiracy to tamper with evidence. Orie Melvin was sentenced to house arrest for three years, with leave three days a week to serve at a soup kitchen and attend church. She was also ordered to pay $55,000 in fines and court costs and to send an apology letter--along with a photograph of herself in handcuffs--to every judge in the state (over 500 judges).

Orie Melvin, who had insisted that she was innocent and contended the charges against her were politically motivated, appealed the last portion of the order regarding the apology letters because it violated her right to avoid self-incrimination. The Pennsylvania Superior Court agreed only in part, stating that while the photographs were unnecessary, the court would enforce the written apology letters in order to address "the trial court’s intent to rehabilitate her by requiring her to acknowledge her wrongdoing.”

Mark Fuller

Judge Mark Fuller, a federal judge for the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Alabama, was arrested and charged with domestic violence on August 9, 2014. According to police reports, Fuller's wife sustained injuries to her mouth and forehead after he threw her on the ground, pulled her hair and kicked her. The fight allegedly occurred when Fuller's wife confronted him about his affair with a law clerk. Fuller was charged with misdemeanor battery and spent the night in jail.

This was not the first time Fuller had been accused of domestic violence. Fuller's divorce records from a prior marriage accused him of domestic violence, drug abuse, and engaging in extramarital affairs.

On September 5, 2014, Fuller accepted a plea deal, whereby he would have his misdemeanor battery charge dismissed and his record expunged upon the completion of a 24-week court program. In response, members of Alabama's congressional delegation called on Judge Fuller to resign from the court, regardless of the results of an investigation being conducted by the Eleventh Circuit.

See also

• Misconduct Report - a monthly round-up of notable judicial misconduct allegations

External links

• NBC, "Bad Judge"