Opinion ID: 1854995
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 20

Heading: Janice Sanford

Text: Sanford is an abstractor and title agent in Chadron. Sometime during the spring of 1995, she and respondent had a discussion in the office of the clerk of the district court. Upon discovery that Sanford was dating an individual, respondent asked her if she was being good. Sanford replied that as an abstractor, her job depended on her being good and that she was being careful. According to Sanford, respondent told her, I'm not telling you to be careful, I'm telling you to be chaste. That's a decision that you have to make ahead of time, you have to decide to do that ahead of time because if you wait until the heat of the moment it willyou'll make the wrong decision. This comment made Sanford uncomfortable and she said so, to which respondent replied that he was not trying to embarrass her, he just wanted her to know that the Lord loves her but hates fornication. David Motsick, clerk of the district court for Dawes County, testified that he was also present during this exchange. According to him, Sanford and others were engaged in a conversation in the clerk's office when respondent entered and told Sanford, `I hope you're being chaste.' Kim Frazel, former clerk of the district court in Chadron, was also present and testified that she heard respondent ask Sanford if she was being good, meaning, was she having premarital sex. Approximately 2 weeks later, respondent encountered Sanford in the courthouse in Rushville, Nebraska, and asked her, `Are you still being good?' Not denying he made the comments, respondent testified that he regrets it terribly if he hurt Sanford's feelings. The master found that respondent made the foregoing comments to Sanford in violation of Canons 1, 2, 2(A), and 3(B)(4) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and § 24-722(6).