PHOENIX — A Maricopa County Superior Court judge and her staff frequently mocked and ridiculed people during hearings and trials by emailing each other cruel, racial, and obscene statements, jokes, and memes.
It all happened during major felony cases, including high-profile capital murder trials.
But the state’s investigation into the judicial misconduct was dismissed and the judge’s name was scrubbed from the public record.
Why?
The public isn’t allowed to know.
RELATED: Full (dis)Honorable coverage from Dave Biscobing
The work of Arizona’s Commission on Judicial Conduct is almost entirely confidential, and officials have repeatedly refused to release more information about the case.
After a year of research and reporting, “(dis)Honorable” is an hour-long special investigation put together by ABC15 Chief Investigator Dave Biscobing.
It exposes both the “horrific” misconduct in a major U.S. courtroom and the secrecy surrounding how Arizona judges investigate and discipline each other.
An insider speaks out about the extreme level of misconduct and cruelty in Judge Erin Otis’s courtroom.
Legal experts call the misconduct in Otis’s courtroom some of the most “astonishing and horrific” they’ve ever seen. But even more shocking: The state’s judicial conduct commission dismissed the case.
The alleged misconduct in Judge Otis’s courtroom went far beyond cruel jokes and memes. But ABC15 discovered some other serious allegations were not fully investigated, if at all.
The way Arizona investigates and disciplines judges is shrouded in secrecy. The public has almost no ability to evaluate how thousands of complaints against judges are handled.
Judge Otis left the bench while under judicial investigation to join the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office as a death penalty prosecutor. A new State Bar of Arizona investigation reveals the allegations of misconduct didn’t stop.
Biscobing confronts Maricopa County Attorney Rachel Mitchell about how her office hired Otis while under judicial investigation and then worked to keep the case sealed. ABC15 brings on a top First Amendment attorney to explore ways to end the secrecy.
