Opinion ID: 1162726
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 9

Heading: The Second Loretta Bowman Incident

Text: An exemplified copy of an order issued by appellant on July 24, 1986, in a civil matter entitled, Hortsmann v. Oswald was introduced into evidence in the formal proceedings. The order directed Loretta Bowman, the Clerk of the Eighth Judicial District Court, to appear before appellant and show cause why she should not be held in contempt of court for providing appellant with a calendar that improperly designated the parties and created a confusion to the Court. An exemplified copy of the court's minutes was also admitted into evidence. Additionally, appellant testified at the formal hearing at some length concerning this matter. [24] The evidence established that a deputy clerk in Ms. Bowman's office had mistakenly transposed the first and last names of the plaintiff when typing the daily court calendar. Although appellant threatened to hold the clerk in contempt of court and punish her for the inadvertent error of her deputy, appellant subsequently quashed the show cause order. Based upon this evidence, the commission found that appellant abused his contempt power.