Opinion ID: 1880792
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 12

Heading: June 25, 1997, Incident

Text: The record reflects that at approximately 10:15 a.m. on June 25, 1997, Jones asked Favor, the bailiff, to unlock the door to Prochaska's chambers so that he could have access to the bathroom. Prochaska was on medical leave at the time, but had given orders that Jones could not use her facilities even if she was not using them. Favor did not have a key, so she initially asked Dawn Bottorff, an administrative secretary, to unlock the door. However, Bottorff refused because of Prochaska's orders. Favor then arranged to have the court magistrate open the door. At some point during the morning, Jones used the facilities, and he testified that he was careful to leave the restroom in good condition. Later in the day, Jones asked that the room be unlocked again, and Favor refused, stating that Bottorff would not let her unlock it because a mess had been made on the floor. Jones then located Bottorff to inquire as to why he could not use the facilities. No allegation is made in the complaint that Jones either intentionally or unintentionally urinated on the floor. Rather, the issue is the language Jones used. Favor testified that Jones became angry and asked, `What the hell am I supposed to do?' and that, referring to Bottorff, Jones asked, `Who the fuck does she think she is? Who the fuck does she think she works for, if it's not us?' Favor testified that there were people present when these comments were made and that Jones used a loud enough voice that they could hear him. Bottorff provided similar testimony. Favor further testified that after checking into whether Jones could use another judge's facilities and finding that those facilities were in use, Jones took his robe off and stated `[f]uck it, find yourself another judge,' and left. Another judge filled in for a period of time, but Jones at some point returned and finished the afternoon's business. At the close of business, apparently referring to Bottorff, Jones told Favor that he was going to get the fucking cunt fired. Favor further testified that sometime after the incident occurred, Jones also stated that if he had a key, he would shit on [Prochaska's] desk. Wagner testified that Jones spoke with him and referred to Bottorff as a fucking bitch. Another court employee also overheard Jones angrily say fucking bitch before stating that he wanted somebody fired. Jones' medical doctor testified that due to several medical conditions and treatment for those conditions, Jones experiences a frequent and urgent need to urinate. Jones testified that when he located Bottorff, she seemed to be deliberately attempting to humiliate him. Jones also testified that he left the court area in order to go to his office and get his own keys and only told Bottorff that she would have to find someone else. Jones further testified that he did not call Bottorff anything other than a snot nosed secretary during a private meeting with Ashford regarding the incident. The day following the incident, Jones met with Bottorff and apologized.