Judge’s Abrupt End to Testimony Results in New Trial
A California appeals court has granted a new trial to a divorce litigant whose case abruptly ended when the judge walked out while his lawyer was questioning a witness.
The judge, Peter McBrien of Sacramento, said he was leaving to handle a request for a protective order, the Recorder (sub. req.) reports. But he did not return, and he said that the trial was over. He ordered the parties to submit declarations and closing briefs of no more than three pages so he could decide the case.
McBrien had previously warned lawyer Sharon Huddle that he would declare a mistrial in the case if the trial wasn’t finished by noon of the second day. He had said he had another trial scheduled that had to take precedence.
“This method of conducting a trial cannot be condoned in a California courtroom,” the appeals court wrote in its opinion (PDF).
The litigant, Ulf Johan Carlsson, has launched a recall drive against the judge and says he has filed a judicial ethics complaint, the story says. The recall petition asserts McBrien inflicts “evil terrorism” from the bench.
Carlsson has claimed the judge got him fired from his state job after demanding conflict of interest documents from him and sending them to his employer, according to the story. The documents did not disclose his interest in rental property.
McBrien received a reprimand in 2002 for cutting trees on county property to enhance his home’s river view.
