| ► Judge Annette Easton of Coudersport, PA; lawbreaker, potty mouth |
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Judge Annette Easton of Coudersport, PA; lawbreaker, potty mouth 
Judge Easton sits as a District Court Judge in Coudersport, Pennsylvania, which is about 90 miles southeast of Jamestown, New York.
I early June 2012, Judge Easton was fined criminally convicted and fined $1,000 for illegally accessing the driver’s license information of two state troopers, one of whom was later cited and pleaded guilty to driving with a license. (AP) As a consequence of her conviction, Potter County President Judge Steve Minor removed her from hearing cases.
Judge Easton’s mouthpiece, attorney Samuel Stretton, said Judge Easton didn’t provide the information that led to the trooper’s traffic citation, but said investigators believed she was the source. Stretton admitted that Judge Easton accessed the records but laughingly said it was legal. This is reminiscent of President Nixon’s answer to David Frost “When the president does it that means that it is not illegal.”
Stretton subsequently said, “Really, this is much ado about nothing.” If he meant it was just another case of a Pennsylvania judge breaking the law, then he’s right.
Stretton also represented Judge Easton in 2005 after former Potter County DA Jeff Leber tried to get her disqualified from hearing most criminal cases because she allegedly kept an “(expletive) list” of three Coudersport-based state troopers and two borough police officers she didn’t like. In this case, the Court of Judicial Discipline settled disciplinary charges against Easton informally. Likely gave her a private letter of admonition telling her to keep up the good work.
All that’s left now is to see what punishment the Judicial Commission hands down. Given its abysmal record of disciplining Judicial Misfits, Annette doesn’t have much to worry about. At worst she’ll likely receive a complimentary reprimand.
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