Based on the judge’s consent, the Indiana Commission on Judicial Qualifications publicly admonished a judge for assuming the role of the prosecutor by directly negotiating deferral agreements with defendants (or allowing her clerk to do so), rather than allowing the prosecutor to offer these agreements, and permitting deferral payments to be sent directly to the court, rather than to the prosecutor’s office.

Based on an agreement and the judge’s resignation, the Indiana Supreme Court ordered a judge permanently banned from serving in any judicial capacity for misusing her judicial authority; failing to follow proper legal procedures in guilty plea and sentencing hearings; injudicious behavior outside of the courtroom (including a comment on the Facebook page of her children’s father); and failing to cooperate with the Commission on Judicial Qualifications.

The Florida Supreme Court dismissed a case after the judge resigned following the Judicial Qualifications Commission recommendation that she be removed for twice taking the bench in drug court while impaired and being involved in a motor vehicle accident after walking away from a substance abuse program.

The Michigan Judicial Tenure Commission released its 2014 annual report, which includes statistics about complaints received, investigated, and disposed of and summaries of eight public proceedings and eight non-public proceedings (four letters of admonishment and four letters of caution)

The Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct released its annual report for 2014, which includes statistics about complaints received, investigated, and disposed of and summaries of three public sanctions and five advisory letters and five warnings.

The Illinois Supreme Court added a comment to Canon 4 of the state’s code of judicial conduct that states “a judge may serve on a committee that includes other judges, attorneys and members of the community for the purpose of developing programs or initiatives aimed at improving the outcomes for juveniles involved in the juvenile court system, or adults in the criminal court system.  Such programs may include diversion, restorative justice and problem-solving court programs, among others.”