Opinion ID: 854124
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Findings With Regard to Respondent's Defenses in Cause 482

Text: Respondent's defense in this cause has principally been that the Commission should be estopped from prosecuting the charges. Respondent asserts, in general, that he consulted with counsel to the Commission, Margaret Babcock, and that she reassured him that he could handle all these responsibilities and that his conduct would be condoned. [5] Review Brief at 9-10. A threshold question arising in this cause is whether estoppel is ever available to preclude the prosecution of a disciplinary case. As a general principal, estoppel is an equitable doctrine whereby one's own acts or conduct prevents the claiming of a right to the detriment of another party who was entitled to and did rely on the conduct. Black's Law Dictionary 494 (5th ed. 1979). For example, we have held that a city was estopped from arguing that an agreement was not binding upon it in light of language within the agreement itself stating that the agreement had been reviewed by counsel for the city and found to be proper in all respects. Speckman v. City of Indianapolis, 540 N.E.2d 1189, 1191 (Ind.1989). Respondent argues that he consulted with the Commission's counsel and was given permission to serve as a full-time judge pro tempore, a part-time probate judge, and continue to practice law. Thus, he claims the Commission should be estopped from now asserting that his conduct was in violation of the ethical obligations of lawyers and judges. On the one hand, where a judge honestly seeks advice from the Commission's counsel about a particular ethical problem and reasonably relies on it, there might be good reason to foreclose prosecution if that advice turned out to be wrong. On the other hand, judges are individually responsible for making sure that their conduct comports with the Code of Judicial Conduct. However, in this instance, we need not address the legal question of whether estoppel could ever apply in a disciplinary proceeding. Even assuming that the Commission could, in the proper case, be equitably estopped from prosecuting charges, there is simply no factual basis for applying that doctrine in this cause. As noted above, Respondent was appointed as full-time judge pro tempore of Delaware Superior Court 4 on May 16, 1996. Respondent claims he spoke by telephone with Ms. Babcock on or about May 22, 1996, and discussed with her the classification of his position in light of the terminology section of the Code of Judicial Conduct. Respondent did not create or maintain any contemporaneous notes of his conversation with Ms. Babcock. He admits that he does not specifically recall asking Ms. Babcock to provide advice concerning the implications of his judicial classification on his continuing employment as part-time probate commissioner in the Henry Circuit Court. He also does not recall discussing with Ms. Babcock the implications of his judicial classification on his private law practice. Following that telephone conversation, Respondent asserts he prepared a letter to Ms. Babcock on that same day. The sum and substance of that letter was to confirm a conversation in which it was established that Respondent had been appointed judge pro tempore in Delaware Superior Court 4 and that he was supposedly classified as a continuing part-time judge as defined by the Code of Judicial Conduct. Ms. Babcock does not have an independent recollection of receiving the May 22, 1996 letter from Respondent and a diligent search of her records has not uncovered a file copy of the letter. Respondent's alleged letter is the type of correspondence that Ms. Babcock would routinely maintain in her permanent file system. Support staff witnesses were not able to testify with certainty that the letter had been sent. However, even if Ms. Babcock actually received the May 22, 1996 letter around the time it was purportedly sent, it would not have had any significance to her other than as confirmation of an understanding that Respondent was a part-time judge. This would not have been noteworthy information to Ms. Babcock, since she already knew Respondent as a part-time judge by virtue of his employment as master commissioner in Delaware Superior Court 4 and probate commissioner in the Henry Circuit Court. The lettereven if sent and receivedsimply did not put her on notice that Respondent's appointment as judge pro tempore was a full-time appointment. Ms. Babcock recalls in general terms having a telephone conversation with Respondent about the limitations on other employment applicable to continuing part-time judges. However, at that time, Ms. Babcock was not aware that he had been appointed as full-time judge pro tempore in Delaware Superior Court 4. Had Ms. Babcock been informed that Respondent was a full-time judge, not a part-time judge, her advice to him in May of 1996 would have been that a full-time judge cannot practice law and that he could not be simultaneously employed as part-time commissioner in another court. In fact, Ms. Babcock had been previously asked to give an opinion on similar issues when Deborah Smith, a juvenile referee in Boone County, was appointed to serve as full-time judge pro tempore in the Boone Circuit Court. The advice Ms. Babcock gave to Deborah Smith was that she was required to resign as juvenile referee, that she could neither go to court as an attorney on behalf of private clients nor file papers and pleadings in any court on behalf of private clients, and that she should wind down her private practice. Respondent made no further attempt to contact the Commission. Ms. Babcock first became aware that Respondent had been appointed full-time judge pro tempore when, on October 1 or 2, 1996, she was notified by his opponent in the fall general election that he was the full-time judge pro tempore of Delaware Superior Court 4, and that he simultaneously held another judicial appointment and was practicing law. On October 1 or 2, 1996, Ms. Babcock contacted Respondent to confirm and discuss his multiple employments. After confirming that Respondent's appointment as judge pro tempore was full-time, Babcock informed him that it was improper for him to maintain his employment as probate commissioner in the Henry Circuit Court and to maintain a private law practice that called upon him to file papers and appear in court on behalf of clients. Ms. Babcock indicated to Respondent that his ability to maintain multiple legal or judicial employments had nothing to do with the rules affecting continuing part-time judges because he was a full-time judge. To the extent Ms. Babcock gave advice to Respondent it was without knowledge on her part that he was at that time employed on a full-time basis as judge pro tempore in Delaware Superior Court 4. Furthermore, at no time did Ms. Babcock advise Respondent that it was proper for him to be simultaneously employed as full-time judge pro tempore, as part-time probate commissioner, and as a private law practitioner. Therefore, there is no basis for Respondent's defense to this cause that he was relying upon advice from the Commission or its counsel. By way of further defense to the charges of working as both a full-time judge in one court and part-time judge in another, Respondent also claimed at trial that he was able to conduct the business of Delaware Superior Court 4 by working less than full-time. He claimed his work as a probate commissioner in another court did not affect the performance of his judicial duties in Delaware Superior Court 4. Further, asserts Respondent, the other work as probate commissioner in Henry County was judicial in nature and should therefore not be considered improper. Both assertions are incorrect. The record introduced at trial shows that there was more judicial work that should have been done during Respondent's tenure as judge pro tempore in Delaware Superior Court 4. While Respondent was engaging in other activities at another court, that work was not being done and Delaware Superior Court 4 suffered for it. Most importantly, however, as a full-time judge in Delaware County, Respondent was simply not free to absent himself from his court to engage in other lucrative judicial employment in another county on a regular basis.