Remove Minn. Judge Who Cut Legal Bill By Referring Cases, Board Recommends
A Minnesota judge said he would have referred 19 divorce cases to Collins Buckley Sauntry & Haugh for mediation regardless of whether he personally benefitted, because the law firm does good work.
But the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards says Goodhue County District Judge Timothy Blakely should be removed from the bench over his quid pro quo referral arrangement with the firm, reports the Pioneer Press.
At issue in the judicial discipline case is Blakely’s $109,000 legal bill for his own 2002 divorce. Collins Buckley reportedly reduced it by two-thirds in exchange for the judge’s mediation referrals.
A three-member fact-finding panel had recommended a lesser penalty of suspension from the bench, and the final decision on potential discipline against the judge will be made by the Minnesota Supreme Court, the newspaper writes.
The Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct “generally precludes judges from accepting personal gifts, favors or benefits that could reasonably be perceived as intended to influence the judge in the performance of official duties,” the fact-finding panel wrote in a statement accepted by the board.
Earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Did Judge Refer Cases to Lawyer in Exchange for a Cut-Rate Divorce?”
