Opinion ID: 1737782
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: formal charge i(b)

Text: In Formal Charge I(B), the Commission charged Judge Emanuel of denying litigants access to his court by intentionally refusing to set and convene status conferences or issue scheduling orders in five specific cases. The stipulation contained the following facts. In Holman v. Taco Bell Corp., No. 396,831, three requests for scheduling conferences to set trial dates were submitted to Judge Emanuel, dated May 3, 1995, December 15, 1995, and February 29, 1996, to which Judge Emanuel did not respond. [4] By letter dated April 19, 1996, one attorney requested a status conference and stated that if he did not hear from Judge Emanuel, on or before May 1, 1996, petitioners will assume that they are being denied access to state court and will file the appropriate suit in federal court to address this problem. Subsequently, Judge Emanuel ordered a status conference on May 10, 1996, and on May 15 and 20, issued orders setting a jury trial on December 9, 1996. Judge Emanuel testified that he did not set a trial date earlier because based on the answers to the questionnaire, he did not believe the case was ready for trial. The Commission found by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Emanuel's conduct in this case was a breach of Canon 3 A(7) of the Code of Judicial Conduct (1976) (a failure to dispose promptly of the business of the court) but did not review whether the litigants were denied access to Court in violation of 1974 La. Const. art. 1, § 22. In Green v. Podnuh's BBQ, Inc., No. 398,791, a party submitted a request for a status conference on November 4, 1994. Judge Emanuel wrote a letter dated February 20, 1995, stating that it is my practice to exercise the discretion of not scheduling status conferences in most cases. Instead, Judge Emanuel requested the parties submit a Status Report Questionnaire. The parties complied, but no correspondence followed. One of the parties submitted a second letter dated December 12, 1995, requesting a trial date. On February 12, 1996, approximately 15 months after first requested, Judge Emanuel scheduled trial for May 29, 1996. Judge Emanuel testified that he did not issue a scheduling order or set a status conference when first requested because he did not believe the case was ready for trial. The Commission found by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Emanuel's conduct in this case was a breach of Canon 3 A(7) of the Code of Judicial Conduct (1976), but did not review whether the litigants were denied access to Court in violation of 1974 La. Const. art. 1, § 22. In McFarland v. Plumley, No. 378,913, the parties requested status conferences by letters dated March 14, 1994, and May 3, 1994. Judge Emanuel responded by letter dated September 12, 1994, advising the lawyers of his policy of not setting status conferences and presented three available dates for trial, about which the parties were to confer and agree. Because the dates conflicted with counsels' schedules, Judge Emanuel submitted four additional dates. On October 21, 1994, counsel advised Judge Emanuel that these dates also conflicted with counsels' schedules, but they received no response. Subsequently, on May 19, September 16, and October 10, 1996, the attorneys wrote to Judge Emanuel requesting a status conference. In response to the October 10, 1996, letter, Judge Emanuel provided additional trial dates and a trial date of May 29, 1997, was selected. Judge Emanuel testified that he took so long to respond to the initial status conference requests because he had just assumed the bench and offered in defense that, to date, no trial has been held. The Commission found by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Emanuel's conduct in this case was a breach of Canon 3 A(7) of the Code of Judicial Conduct (1976), but did not review whether the litigants were denied access to Court in violation of 1974 La. Const. art. 1, § 22. In Hyo Su Kim Nation v. Sport City, Inc., 392,473, a party requested a status conference on September 7, 1994. On January 25, 1995, Judge Emanuel responded that he did not generally hold status conferences and sent the parties a questionnaire. On February 3, 1995, the parties completed the questionnaire but received no response. The parties submitted three more letters on May 14, June 12, and September 19, 1996, requesting a status conference. In response to the last letter, Judge Emanuel provided available trial dates, but no date was ever established during the time the case was assigned to Judge Emanuel's section. Judge Emanuel testified that this case was a very old case and that the lawyers did not need a status conference, they needed a trial date. He also testified that some of the requests did not comply with Rule 9 because they were not filed in the record. The Commission found by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Emanuel's conduct in this case was a breach of Canon 3 A(7) of the Code of Judicial Conduct (1976). In Fulguim v. James Harrals Fitness World, Inc., No. 391,077, on April 4, 1994, a party requested a status conference. On September 12, 1994, Judge Emanuel responded that he does not generally hold status conferences but instead offered available trial dates. Because the dates conflicted with the attorneys' schedules, Judge Emanuel offered additional dates on October 15, 1994. After the attorneys advised him by letter that these dates also conflicted, they received no response from Judge Emanuel. The Commission found by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Emanuel's conduct in this case was a breach of Canon 3 A(7) of the Code of Judicial Conduct (1976).