Opinion ID: 1129312
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Prior Closed File

Text: The Formal Charge and the stipulation between the parties also address a prior complaint involving Judge Roe in File No. 99-1686. [5] The file was opened by the Commission upon receipt of a complaint from Marie Giordano, a litigant in a case pending in Judge Roe's court. In her complaint, Ms. Giordano alleged that Judge Roe told a newspaper reporter that she is a convicted felon (a charge she denied), and that he later made the same remark to seven lawyers, including her own, during a telephone conference call. In January 2000, the Commission voted to close the file but cautioned Judge Roe to review Canon 3 A(8) of the Code of Judicial Conduct, which prohibits public comments about pending cases that could affect the outcome or affect the fairness of the proceeding. Judge Roe admitted that he was cautioned by the Commission but denied that the closed file has any relevance to the instant case. Judge Roe stated that he made comments on the record and to the attorneys involved in the case that Ms. Giordano, who had been found to have illegally misappropriated over a million dollars from class action members, would not have any further involvement as a class representative. Judge Roe denied that was a public comment which could or would affect the fairness of the proceeding; rather, it was made as an indication of how that particular matter would proceed.