a new one Oklahoma judge could lose his job More than 500 text messages were sent to her bailiff during the murder trial, including ones that mocked prosecutors, praised defense attorneys and called key witnesses liars.
The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recommended in a court filing Tuesday that Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom be removed from office following an investigation by the state Judicial Complaints Commission.
Soderstrom has been under scrutiny since July. Camera captures scrolling through social media and texting at the trial of a man accused of beating a two-year-old to death.
Soderstrom, who was sworn in on Jan. 9 after being elected in November, has been suspended with pay pending the outcome of a Justice Court hearing that will determine whether to remove her from the bench.
“The pattern of conduct demonstrates gross negligence, gross favoritism, and oppression by defendant (Soderstrom),” Chief Justice John Cain IV wrote. “This conduct further demonstrates defendant’s (Soderstrom’s) lack of temperament to serve as a judge.”
Calls to the number listed by Soderstrom went unanswered and the call was hung up on Wednesday.
The judge’s text messages included saying prosecutors were “sweating profusely” when questioning potential jurors and asking “why does he have baby hands?” according to Kane’s petition. The text messages described the defense attorney as “awesome” and asked “can I applaud her?” during the defense attorney’s opening statement.
Soderstrom also sent a laughing emoji to the bailiff, who “made a vulgar and insulting reference to the prosecutor’s genitals,” Kane wrote.
Khristian Tyler Martzall – the man on trial as judge calls – ultimately found guilty in 2018 death of Martzall’s girlfriend’s son Braxton Danker was found guilty of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to prison time.
Martzall’s girlfriend and mother of his children, Judith Danker, who pleaded guilty to child abuse and was sentenced to 25 years in prison, was a key prosecution witness and was called a liar by Soderstrom during her testimony .
“The state cannot accept that a mother can kill their child, so they go find the next person,” Soderstrom texted, according to Kane’s documents.
Soderstrom’s text messages also included comments questioning whether jurors were wearing wigs, whether witnesses had teeth, and calling a police officer who testified “beautiful,” adding, “I could look at him all day.”
When questioned by the Judicial Complaints Commission, Soderstrom said her text messages “probably should have waited” instead of realizing the comments should never have been made. She said she thought: “Oh, this is interesting. Keep going.”
safety video publisher The Oklahoman The newspaper showed that Soderstrom texted or messaged several times at a time during jury selection, opening statements and testimony during the trial in Chandler, about 45 miles (72 kilometers) northeast of Oklahoma City. minute.
Kane’s petition also alleges that Soderstrom had previously criticized other attorneys and prosecutors and berated a court staffer.
Kane wrote that Soderstrom should be terminated for reasons including gross neglect of duty, gross office favoritism and office oppression.
The judge’s four-year term ends in January 2027.
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