Opinion ID: 1880792
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 14

Heading: count 4: bonds and court documents

Text: Count 4 of the complaint states: On various occasions from 1995 to 1997, Jones signed official court documents with names other than his own, including Adolf Hitler, Judge Smallheiser, and Judge Ryan. ... On various occasions during 1996, Jones entered or set bond amounts for criminal defendants which were nonsensical, or problematic for the court employees who must administer those bonds, including a bond for a zillion dollars and one for thirteen cents. Several court employees testified that they saw fictitious names signed by Jones on plea forms, court registers, and bench warrants. Shirley Kort, the division manager, testified that she saw the names of a city prosecutor, David Smallheiser; a deceased judge, Judge William Ryan; and Adolf Hitler on register of action forms that were signed in Jones' handwriting. Kort further testified that the use of fictitious names created additional work for court employees because they would have to get the information corrected and that if the fictitious signature was on a bench warrant, the office would be unable to issue the warrant until the problem was fixed. Marilyn Donnelly, supervisor of the warrants and accounting department at the court, testified that she saw 12 bench warrants that Jones had signed Adolph Hitler. Jones admits to signing plea forms with the names William Ryan, Judge Creeder, Adolf Hitler, Snow White, and Mickey Mouse. However, Jones states that he did so in order to keep court employees on their toes and states that the false signatures on plea forms did not affect the course of justice. He denies the intentional use of fictitious names on court registers or bench warrants. The record indicates that a court register in Jones' handwriting has Smallheiser, a county prosecutor, listed as both the prosecutor and the judge. Jones testified that this must have been due to a clerical error on his part and that it was not done intentionally. Kort testified that Jones executed bond documents for 13 cents and $999.99. The record indicates that these odd amounts created problems because the employees were not equipped to make change or enter uneven amounts into the computers and that the odd amounts caused employees to question if the amount was right. Jones admitted to setting bonds at odd amounts and testified that he did it to amuse the court employees or just to tease them a little bit. Jones further testified that when a bond amount is under $250, the bond is automatically $25. Jones also admitted to possibly setting a bond in a false currency for a zillion pengos. Jones testified that the effect of this was the same as not setting any bond at all. The special master found by clear and convincing evidence that the allegations occurred and that the conduct violated Canons 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 3B(3) and (4), and 3C(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and § 24-722(6). The commission adopted the findings of the special master. Jones admits that he signed false names on plea forms and states in his brief that he accepts the findings and conclusions of the special master and the commission regarding both the signatures on plea forms and the bond amounts. However, Jones denies that he placed false signatures on other forms and contends that testimony regarding bench warrants and registers was inadmissable because it was used to prove the contents of documents not in evidence, in violation of Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-1002 (Reissue 1995). Other than the court register with the name Smallheiser listed as both judge and prosecutor, there are no other documents in evidence showing a fictitious signature. The record indicates that such documents would probably have been destroyed because they would have had to be redrafted with the correct signature. Court employees also conducted an extensive search for documents containing fictitious signatures. Section 27-1002, commonly referred to as the best evidence rule or original document rule, provides that in order to prove the content of a writing, the original writing is required. However, pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 27-1004(1) (Reissue 1995), the original is not required, and other evidence of the contents of a writing is admissible, if all originals are lost or have been destroyed, unless the proponent lost or destroyed them in bad faith. We have held that the loss or destruction need not be proved beyond the possibility of mistake, as the court is vested with a judicial discretion in the matter, and that it is enough if the testimony satisfies the court of the fact with reasonable certainty. State ex rel. Mercurio v. Board of Regents, 213 Neb. 251, 329 N.W.2d 87 (1983). In the instant case, there was extensive testimony regarding a search that was conducted for the documents at issue and testimony indicating that the documents were probably destroyed. No allegations have been made that the documents were destroyed in bad faith. Accordingly, testimony regarding the documents was not prohibited by § 27-1002. Like the conduct discussed in counts 2 and 3, Jones' actions in setting odd bond amounts as an attempt at humor misses the mark and is inappropriate in the judicial system. Jones attempts to mitigate the seriousness of his conduct by stating that the use of false signatures on plea forms did not affect the course of justice. However, the record is clear that the use of false signatures and the setting of irregular bond amounts interfered with the operation of the court and created additional work for court employees. Further, the use of false signatures on bench warrants caused situations where a warrant could not be issued until a new warrant with the appropriate signature was obtained. Such conduct clearly interferes with the court's functioning and is obviously conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice. Accordingly, we adopt the findings and conclusions of the special master and the commission that the conduct violates Canons 1, 1A, 2, 2A, 3B(3) and (4), and 3C(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct and is conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice, as prohibited by § 24-722(6).