Opinion ID: 854124
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 4

Heading: Cause 482Count ThreeFactual Findings

Text: Before being appointed as judge pro tempore of the Delaware Superior Court 4, Respondent maintained a law office in Muncie from which he engaged in the private practice of law. Even after the appointment, Respondent continued to engage in the private practice of law. Respondent's records from his private law office reflect that from May 16, 1996 through November 15, 1996the time in which Respondent was employed as a full-time judgehe logged 303.0 hours of time in his private law practice. Not included in this time is the number of private practice hours that may have been logged on fourteen dates for which pages were missing from his office calendar. The Commission subpoenaed Respondent's calendar records showing his private law practice activity during this period of time. Respondent did not produce the calendar pages for the missing fourteen days. We infer from the fact that those calendar pages were under Respondent's control that the missing calendar pages document additional activities in his private law practice, consistent with the pattern of activity reflected in the calendar pages that were produced. Even after his appointment as judge pro tempore on May 16, 1996, Respondent continued to take new cases in his private practice of law. Respondent claimed at trial that he curtailed his private practice activities on or about October 1 or 2, 1996. However, ten of the fourteen missing calendar pages are on the dates following October 2, 1996. The time entries on Respondent's calendar reflect that he attended court hearings (including hearings in other courts in Delaware County), mediation sessions, and meetings with clients during normal business hours when he should have been attending to the business of the Delaware Superior Court 4. Respondent continued an active private law practice while simultaneously serving as a full-time judge pro tempore in Delaware Superior Court 4.