Opinion ID: 1920622
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 11

Heading: Public Perception

Text: Judge Elloie argued that he did not violate the constitutional provisions that address public perception and the requirement for persistent and public acts. He testified that the public would not have known anything about his expungement practices if then-District Attorney Connick had not reported them. Judge Elloie also maintained that if Judge Johnson had expunged Brown's record, this would not have become a public matter. Judge Elloie views the constitutional provisions too narrowly. The concept of the public for purposes of the constitutional provisions does not encompass only those persons outside of the judicial process. The public also includes lawyers, court personnel, parties involved in litigation and all those people who come into contact with the judiciary. When there is a perception that a judge will participate in forum shopping, or that the proper procedures do not have to be followed, then the judicial office is brought into disrepute. [33]