Judge Censured For Jailing Mother

The North Carolina Supreme Court has censured a General Court of Justice judge for abusing the contempt power

After the boys told Respondent that they would rather have their mother go to jail than visit with their father, Respondent became deeply concerned and stated “my children would never allow me to go to jail for any reason whatsoever . . . I’m appalled because my children respect me so much they would never allow that to happen.” Respondent vigorously questioned and explained the profound significance and detrimental impact their refusal to visit with their father would have on themselves and their mother.

After hearing from the boys that they had an understanding of the consequences of their refusal to comply with a court order, Respondent then ordered the bailiff to handcuff Ms. Morrow and place her in a holding cell. Ms. Morrow’s counsel immediately objected to the decision to put her into custody because no contempt hearing had taken place and neither counsel nor his client were given an opportunity to be heard. Respondent nevertheless instructed the bailiff to take Ms. Morrow to a holding cell over her counsel’s objections.

After Ms. Morrow was handcuffed and removed from the courtroom, Respondent again asked the twin boys to stand and then proceeded to convey to them how “appalled” she was at their behavior and how “ashamed” they should be of themselves for allowing their mother to go to jail for their behavior. During this colloquy, Respondent also lectured the twin boys about her personal experiences as a parent as well as her experiences as a certified juvenile judge. Respondent shared personal stories, as well as disturbing cases she had presided over where children had suffered unfortunate outcomes.

Respondent informed the boys that if their mother was found in contempt, she would go to jail for sixty (60) days and explained that meant they would be in their father’s custody for that entire time. Respondent appealed to the boys’ sense of reason by questioning whether it made more sense to spend six (6) days of visitation with their father as originally ordered, or sixty (60) days while their mother was incarcerated. The boys finally relented and agreed to visit their father.

The court

The facts establish that Respondent acted with the specific intent to avoid what Respondent referred to as a “full–blown hearing,” which Respondent admitted could not properly go forward because of inadequate notice. The facts also establish that this conduct was not a mere “error of judgment or mere lack of diligence” but was intentional and part of Respondent’s admitted pattern of ordering litigants into temporary custody to achieve compliance with her directives without resort to the contempt power.

Importantly, Respondent has indicated that her decision to order Ms. Morrow into custody and her threats and harsh language directed to the boys were undertaken with benevolent motives to “deescalate an unfortunate situation and resolve the visitation issues without further involving the Court.” Even so, “bad faith” includes “any knowing misuse of the office, whatever the motive.” In re Nowell, 293 N.C. at 248. The facts establish that Respondent acted in bad faith because she had “[a] specific intent to use the powers of the judicial office to accomplish a purpose which the judge knew or should have known was beyond the legitimate exercise of [her] authority. [sic] Id. Respondent concedes this point as well.

The court favorably considered her candor and cooperation. (Mike Frisch)