One judge was married to two women at once. Another was slow to rule. Some were generally incompetent. A few were accused of driving while intoxicated, domestic violence or sexual harassment. Others were reprimanded for bad behavior in the courtroom such as rudeness, badgering folks or mouthing off.
These are some of the deeds that got Oregon judges in trouble in the past.
The latest rare public hearing for a judge under fire -- Marion County Circuit Judge Vance Day -- opens a window into Oregon's arcane judicial disciplinary system.
Day, 54, faces 13 accusations, including screening same-sex wedding applicants to avoid performing gay marriages, hanging a picture of Hitler in the courthouse and allowing a felon to handle a gun.
The state Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability receives more than 100 complaints each year, but not many make it to a wider audience because few are selected for prosecution and fewer still reach a public hearing.
The commission handles complaints confidentially, keeping them secret in accordance with the law, until the case proceeds to a public hearing.
Some judges are formally charged but resign before the process ends, leaving no public trace of a pending complaint. Others reach an agreement with the commission, in some cases consenting to censure, so that only the Oregon Supreme Court's disciplinary record is made public.
In the past 50 years, commission records and news reports indicate that 21 cases have resulted in discipline.
What's next
The state judicial fitness panel
, Nov. 20, in the case of Oregon Judge Vance Day, who's accused of violating several judicial canons.
The commission has asked a special prosecutor and Day's defense team to submit written closing arguments by
Dec. 11
. The commission's nine members will deliberate and issue a decision some time after that.
Two judges were ousted for incompetence. Five were suspended for periods ranging from one month to two years. Others were reprimanded but lost no pay.
Only a handful of those cases played out in a public hearing. Instead, most cases of discipline resulted from a judge agreeing to censure.
The infrequent hearing is an adversarial proceeding. The nine-member commission -- made up of judges, lawyers and citizens -- hears evidence presented by a special prosecutor hired by the commission. The judge's counsel may also present evidence, and each side can cross-examine the other's witnesses. Commission members, too, may ask questions.
The hearing isn't a court proceeding, but it mimics a trial with opening statements and closing arguments. At the end, the commission must decide whether the prosecution proved by clear and convincing evidence that a judge's behavior broke the state judicial conduct code.
If the commission finds a judge in violation, it will also decide on a sanction to recommend to the Oregon Supreme Court. The possible discipline is censure, suspension or removal from office.
Past hearings before the commission include:
1989: Hood River District Judge Hugh Garrabrant, who was accused of sexual harassment, public intoxication and drinking on the job. He resigned before the case reached the Oregon Supreme Court for disciplinary proceedings.
1990: Multnomah County District Judge Robert Kirkman, who in 1987 was married to two women at the same time and showed his second wife a forged divorce decree before he married her. The commission unanimously recommended his removal from office. However, he resigned before the Oregon Supreme Court made a disciplinary decision. He was later disbarred.
1994: Circuit Judge Ronald Schenck, who published negative comments about a district attorney in a local newspaper while he presided in Union and Wallowa counties. He was also found to have wrongfully stayed on cases when he should have recused himself and to have had improper communication with one side on a case. The Oregon Supreme Court imposed a 45-day suspension, but a subsequent recall campaign forced him from the bench.
1997: Oregon Supreme Court Justice Edward Fadeley, who had an affair with a subordinate. Diagnosed with throat cancer, he resigned before the Supreme Court reached a disciplinary decision.
1998: Multnomah County Circuit Judge Stephen Gallagher, who solicited campaign contributions and used his staff assistant to handle personal matters. The state Supreme Court suspended him for six months.
2002: Marion County Judge Albin Norblad, who was arrested for drunken driving in 2000. He entered a DUII diversion program and his criminal charge was later dismissed. The state Supreme Court suspended him for one month. He went on to become Oregon's longest-sitting circuit judge and was still working when he died last year at age 74, from a fall at home.
-- Emily E. Smith
esmith@oregonian.com
503-294-4032; @emilyesmith