Court Opinion

ID: 9855194
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-24 06:20:51.519825+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T09:23:43.339870
License: Public Domain

ZLAKET, Justice,
dissenting.
In view of Jett v. City of Tucson, 180 Ariz. 115, 882 P.2d 426 (1994), in which a majority of this court held that the Tucson City Council had the power to remove Judge Jett from office, I believe the issues presently before us are moot. Additionally, because of my disagreement with the legal analysis and sanction applied here, I respectfully dissent.
The Commission on Judicial Conduct, having viewed the witnesses and heard the evidence, unequivocally found that Judge Jett suffered from battered woman’s syndrome and sleep deprivation at the time of the incident in question. This finding was based on uncontroverted expert testimony. Furthermore, undisputed evidence at the hearing established that these disorders resulted from a pattern of abuse by her male companion over a period of many months. In fact, the commission found that the evidence “suggests that she was under the stress of the same emotional condition” when two of her previous incidents of misconduct occurred, one of which resulted in a private informal reprimand and the other in a private informal admonition. The majority concedes all of this, yet inexplicably places substantial weight on these prior disciplinary events as part of a “pattern of misconduct” that constitutes a “strong aggravating factor.” Ante at 109, 882 P.2d at 420. I cannot agree.
Relying on “our duty to the public,” ante at 109, 882 P.2d at 420, the court suspends *112Judge Jett from office for the remainder of her term, which expires in April 1997. Despite the majority’s pronouncements to the contrary, this sanction would have effectively resulted in her removal from office if the city council had not already done so. See Jett v. City of Tucson, supra. Yet, a ten-person commission of judges, lawyers and public members came to a far different conclusion after viewing the witnesses firsthand, hearing their live testimony, questioning respondent and her counsel, and examining the exhibits in the context of all other evidence. That commission recommended a suspension of only 60 days. I am uncomfortable with such a significant disparity.
While I do not suggest that we should ever ignore our responsibility “for protecting the public,” ante at 110, 882 P.2d at 421, or that it would be wise to restrict the court’s power of de novo review, I reject the notion that our conclusions about what is best for the populace and the justice system are somehow more enlightened than those of citizens who together represent a significantly broader segment of society. In fact, they may be considerably less so, given the isolation that inevitably falls upon appellate judges.
What troubles me most, however, is the majority’s implicit suggestion that a human justice system cannot tolerate human judges. I do not accept the premise that judges who succumb to the emotional stresses of daily living necessarily become unfit to serve. My belief is that those who are given the privilege of judging others should be able to recognize and understand, through their own personal experiences, the weakness and folly that go with being human. Otherwise we risk having a judiciary composed of arrogant, sanctimonious elitists—people with little humility or compassion, free of emotion in both their personal and professional lives, and well out of touch with the world. I can think of little that would be more dangerous to our society, and I daresay most citizens who encounter the justice system would agree.
Does this mean that I believe our judges should not be circumspect in what they say and do, or that they should not be careful to avoid conduct that would prejudice their actual or perceived abilities to sit impartially in the difficult and important task of determining the rights and obligations of other citizens? Of course not. Neither do I believe that we as a society should tolerate for one second the corrupt or evil judge who dishonors us all. But that is not what this case is about.
Judge Jett, under serious psychological stress, made a mistake. As the commission properly found, her conduct was prejudicial to the administration of justice. I do not condone what she did. We obviously should make every reasonable effort to see that her continued presence on the bench poses no threat to the public or the integrity of the justice system. I agree that she should be suspended until there is no doubt about her ability to serve fairly and impartially. In fact, I would have no problem with a longer suspension than that recommended by the commission if it was required to accomplish these ends. But there is nothing in this record to suggest that a suspension until 1997 is necessary. Thus, I believe that the sanction imposed by this court is extraordinarily harsh and unwarranted. In my'judgment, it is also unsupported by the law and the evidence.
Moreover, the majority’s discussion of “wilful misconduct,” “good faith,” and “bad faith” is confusing to say the least and, in my opinion, badly flawed. For example, the court cites In re Hoover, 155 Ariz. 192, 198, 745 P.2d 939, 945 (1987), .in support of its conclusion that the “nature” of misconduct does not change merely because it “was the result of a mental condition.” Ante at 106, 882 P.2d at 417. I am uncertain as to what that language means. In any event, I do not believe Hoover stands for such a proposition. Rather, that case concludes that while a mental illness may not act as a complete bar to discipline, “it must be considered in determining whether and what kind of discipline is to be imposed and what procedures are to be followed to protect the public.” 155 Ariz. at 199, 745 P.2d at 946; see also In re Couser, 122 Ariz. 500, 596 P.2d 26 (1979) (citing with approval Glenn v. State Bar of California, 14 Cal.2d 318, 94 P.2d 43 (1939) (mental and *113financial strain considered in mitigation)). This principle is obviously correct because we could not properly permit one who suffers from a debilitating mental illness to resume his or her duties as lawyer or judge, regardless of culpability. But that, again, is not this case.
Unlike in Hoover, we are apparently not dealing with a true mental illness. Nonetheless, evidence before the commission suggests that battered woman’s syndrome may affect a victim’s cognitive and volitional functioning. The uncontroverted expert testimony at hearing was, in part, as follows:
Q: Is the battered-woman syndrome a mental illness?
A: No, it’s not.
Q: What is it, in psychological terms?
A: Battered-woman syndrome is a set of behaviors that are generally in response to recurrent traumatic experience. And it’s accompanied often by depression, but the depression is not clinical depression, it’s not [a] bipolar kind of thing, it’s not something that is a mental illness that we diagnose, it is situation relevant. And when the situation is gone, the depression lifts.
It’s also often accompanied by inability to make decisions. By memory loss, by insecurity, low self-esteem ..., that kind of thing produces a great deal of confusion and depression and uncertainty.
The only expert evidence produced at the hearing also conclusively established that, with some counseling, this judge can return to perform her duties as a city magistrate. Thus, the commission was justified in finding that she did not suffer from a long-term condition that rendered her unable to serve in an official capacity.
The commission also specifically found that this judge, by reason of her psychological stress, did not have “the requisite state of mind” to support a finding of “wilful misconduct.” The words seem simple enough to understand. Yet, the opinion pursues a most convoluted course in reaching a definition of wilfulness that arguably permits a basis for its disagreement with the commission. In short, it states that “wilful misconduct” means “bad faith,” which in turn means a “corrupt purpose,” which in turn means “any purpose other than the faithful discharge of judicial duties.” This last description is broad enough to cover almost any act of misconduct.
Thus, the opinion remarkably seems to impose a standard of strict liability in judicial discipline cases. I can think of no other area of law that does not permit consideration of an actor’s mental state in assessing the legal implications of conduct, especially where a specific intent is required. It should be self-evident that Judge Jett’s state of mind is essential to a determination of “wilful misconduct” and “bad faith.” To say that “the nature of a judge’s misconduct does not change merely because the misconduct was the result of a mental condition,” ante at 106, 882 P.2d at 417, is a non sequitur. Moreover, because these are factual determinations, not legal ones, the commission was in the best position to make them.
The opinion quotes the following important language from Spruance v. Commission on Judicial Qualifications, 13 Cal.3d 778, 795, 532 P.2d 1209, 1221, 119 Cal.Rptr. 841, 853 (1975), in attempting to define judicial “bad faith,” but seems to ignore its plain meaning: “In sum, ‘bad faith’ is quintessentially a concept of specific intent, requiring consciousness of purpose as an antecedent to a judge’s acting maliciously or corruptly.” Id. (emphasis added). The majority’s attempt to make the facts of this matter fit within the foregoing definition seems extremely strained given the undisputed evidence of this judge’s mental state during the time in question. I simply cannot see how the court can fail to give effect to the commission’s finding that there was neither bad faith nor wilful misconduct here.
I also find it interesting that the opinion makes no attempt to distinguish In re Hendrix, 145 Ariz. 345, 701 P.2d 841 (1985), in which this court characterized similar conduct as merely “a series of thoughtless acts by a judge who had apparently forgotten the position she held and consequences of her actions.” Id. at 349, 701 P.2d at 845. Despite the fact that the judge in that case had *114used her office to obtain special privileges and favors for her clerk, the court agreed that her actions did not constitute “willful conduct in office,” but only “violated the lesser standard of ‘conduct prejudicial to the administration of justice that brings the judicial office into disrepute.’” Id. at 348-49, 701 P.2d at 844-45. The judge, who had no psychological impairment, was only censured.
Furthermore, the majority’s observation here that “[w]e find no evidence, however, that suggests Respondent was acting in ‘good faith,’ under any definition of ‘good faith,’ ” causes me great concern. Ante at 107, 882 P.2d at 418. It erroneously suggests that Judge Jett was under an obligation to demonstrate her “good faith.” The burden, however, is upon those urging the existence of “bad faith” to prove it by clear and convincing evidence. In re Haddad, 128 Ariz. 490, 492, 497-98, 627 P.2d 221, 223, 228-29 (1981); Geiler v. Commission on Judicial Qualifications, 10 Cal.3d 270, 110 Cal.Rptr. 201, 203-04, 515 P.2d 1, 4 (1973), cert. denied, 417 U.S. 932, 94 S.Ct. 2643, 41 L.Ed.2d 235 (1974). That burden was not met here. In fact, after having stipulated to the expert’s credentials, special counsel conceded that if the commission believed the uncontroverted expert testimony, it was “entitled, on this evidence, to make a judgment that Judge Jett’s state of mind on this date was such that she did not consciously wilfully perform the acts that she did in bad faith.”1 The commission did exactly that.
Finally, I return to the prior disciplinary record which the majority finds to be “highly instructive on the public’s need for protection from Respondent.” Ante at 108, 882 P.2d at 419. As previously noted, the commission made mention of the fact that at least two of these prior incidents occurred at a time when Judge Jett was likely suffering from the same behavioral stresses. More importantly, however, all of the previous infractions were determined to be minor and resulted only in private admonitions2 or reprimands,3 both of which are among the lowest possible types of informal disposition. I do not agree that these infractions, when taken together, indicate “a pattern of hostile conduct unbecoming a member of the judiciary.” Ante at 109, 882 P.2d at 420 (quoting In re Deming, 108 Wash.2d 82, 118, 736 P.2d 639, 658 (1987)). Neither did the members of the commission or special counsel.
I do agree that this judge needs to pay more attention to her conduct and the appearance it gives. A suspension should give her time to ponder these things and obtain continued counseling. Unlike the majority, however, I am unwilling to deny her credit for the fact that she reported her behavior promptly and admitted wrongdoing from the beginning. Such factors, together with remorse, have been considered strongly mitigating in other cases. See, e.g., In re Hamed, 357 N.W.2d 300 (Iowa 1984) (Schultz, J., concurring in part, dissenting in part) (forthright and cooperative with commission); In re Hormes, 291 Md. 673, 436 A.2d 457 (1981) (same); In re Kay, 508 So.2d 329 (Fla.1987) (remorse); see also In re Lorona, 178 Ariz. 562, 875 P.2d 795 (1994) (failure to acknowledge wrongs considered in aggravation); In re Peck, 177 Ariz. 283, 289-90, 867 P.2d 853, 859-60 (1994) (accusatory, defensive tone with commission implicitly considered in aggravation).4 I see no reason *115why this matter should be treated differently.
While I concur that a period of suspension is appropriate for this judge, I respectfully disagree with the extraordinarily punitive length of time imposed by the majority. I also cannot subscribe to the court’s analysis, especially as it pertains to the issue of mental impairment in judicial disciplinary matters.

. The same concession was made by counsel in oral argument before this court.

. An admonition is a private communication reminding a judge of ethical responsibilities and giving a gentle or friendly warning to avoid future misconduct or inappropriate practices. An admonition may be used to give authoritative advice and encouragement or to express disapproval of behavior that suggests the appearance of impropriety even though it meets minimum standards of judicial conduct. Commission on Judicial Conduct, “Definitions of Sanctions” (1992) (included in Commission on Judicial Conduct’s Notice of Transmittal filed March 8, 1994). See also Rule 4(f)(2), Commission on Judicial Conduct, Rules of Procedure. Two of the prior infractions relied on by the majority were disposed of by simple letters of admonition.

. "A reprimand is a private communication that declares a judge's conduct unacceptable under one of the grounds for judicial discipline but not so serious as to merit a public sanction.” Commission on Judicial Conduct, "Definitions of Sanctions,” supra. See also Rule 4(f)(1), Commission on Judicial Conduct, Rules of Procedure.

. Of course, cooperation with disciplinary proceedings, voluntary disclosure to disciplinary authorities, and remorse are considered mitigating *115in lawyer discipline cases. See Standards 9.32(e), (l), American Bar Association’s Standards for Imposing Lawyer Sanctions (1991).