5 years ago this month:

• Following a hearing on a complaint by the Judicial Inquiry Commission, the Alabama Court of the Judiciary suspended a judge for 90 days without pay and publicly reprimanded her for, in 5 domestic relations cases, failing to properly exercise her contempt power and entering unlawful orders for arrest and detention that resulted in 5 witnesses and 2 litigants being jailed, or put in fear of immediate incarceration, for an indeterminate amount of time and without notice or a hearing. In the Matter of Batiste, Final Judgment and Order (Alabama Court of the Judiciary August 6, 2013).
• The Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly reprimanded a judge for failing to disqualify himself from a case involving a man who contributed to his campaign and whose business took over a debt owed by the campaign and granting the man’s request to serve as his granddaughter’s representative during mediation even though, as a non-attorney, the man was not legally permitted to do so. Jayne, Order (Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct August 21, 2013).
• The Kentucky Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly reprimanded a former senior status special judge for (1) refusing to allow a pro se defendant in a civil case to present any argument because he was not a lawyer, summarily entering an injunction against the defendant, and awarding attorney’s fees of $11,579.20 and (2) his statements to defense counsel and the defendant in a criminal case, for example, that ineffective counsel motions in general are “distasteful to the court.” In re McDonald, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Final Order (Kentucky Commission on Judicial Conduct August 12, 2013).
• Based on an agreed statement of facts, the Mississippi Supreme Court suspended a judge without pay for 30 days, publicly reprimanded him, and fined him $1,000 for, with full knowledge that he had recused himself from a case, re-inserting himself and issuing arrest warrants for indirect criminal contempt. Commission on Judicial Performance v. Skinner, 119 So. 3d 294 (Mississippi 2013).
• Based on a stipulation, the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline publicly reprimanded a judge for during a murder trial (1) recessing court in the early afternoon on 6 days to attend her daughter’s high school soccer games and (2) to accommodate her personal schedule and for other reasons, conducting proceedings continuously from approximately 1:12 p.m. on December 16, 2010, until the jury returned a verdict at approximately 6:47 a.m. on December 17. In the Matter of Vega, Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Order (Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline August 29, 2013).
• Based on an agreed statement of facts and joint recommendation, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly admonished a non-lawyer judge for presiding over a speeding charge against his nephew by marriage. In the Matter of Marbot, Determination (New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct August 6, 2013).
• Based on an agreed statement of facts and recommendation, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly censured a judge for (1) serving as a fiduciary in several matters while a full-time judge and (2) falsely responding to a question about his financial liabilities in 4 applications for appointment as a fiduciary prior to becoming a judge. In the Matter of O’Connor, Determination (New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct August 12, 2013).
• Accepting an agreed statement of facts and joint recommendation, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly censured a non-lawyer judge for, in a statement during a town board meeting, linking his disposition of a ticket received by the daughter of a board member to his pay raise. In the Matter of Torregiano, Determination (New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct August 26, 2013).