25 years ago this month:

• The Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards publicly reprimanded a judge for his inappropriate conduct towards a juvenile during a court proceeding. Press Release (Berger) (Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards February 19, 1997).
• Affirming the recommendation of the Commission on Judicial Performance, the Mississippi Supreme Court publicly reprimanded a judge and fined him $1,500 for, following ex parte communications, releasing 4 prisoners after they had begun serving their sentences. Commission on Judicial Performance v. Russell, 691 So. 2d 929 (Mississippi 1997).
• The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly censured a judge who had presided in court while under the influence of alcohol. In the Matter of Giles, Determination (New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct February 4, 1997).
• Based on an agreed statement of facts and a joint recommendation, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct publicly censured a judge who sent a letter on judicial stationery to another judge, the county district attorney, and the county assistant district attorney requesting a lenient sentence for a defendant the judge knew personally, questioned the competence of the probation official who had prepared the pre-sentence report, disparaged the police officer who had arrested and charged the defendant, urged the sentencing judge not to impose a jail sentence, and vouched for the defendant’s credibility and honesty; and drafted, signed, and circulated a petition that requested “compassion and mercy” for the defendant, listing his occupation as “town justice,” and mailing it in a town court envelop to the district attorney. In the Matter of Engle, Determination (New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct February 4, 1997).
• The West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission publicly admonished a judge who had conducted a trial in a civil action in August 1994, but did not render a decision until January 1997, after the Supreme Court of Appeals had issued a writ of mandamus directing him to render a decision. In the Matter of Irons (West Virginia Judicial Investigation Commission February 18, 1997).