| ► Judge Maryesther Merlo of Allentown, PA; nutcase, Il Duce Wannabee, moron |
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Judge Maryesther Merlo of Allentown, PA; nutcase, Il Duce Wannabee, moron  
On Nov 4, 2010, the Pennsylvania Judicial Commission filed a 33-page complaint alleging that Judge Merla was guilty of a plethora of egregious judicial misconduct. She was accused of being “nasty, rude, erratic, strange, bizarre, irrational, unpredictable, yelling, demeaning, babbling, rambling, nutty and crazy.” Apparently, these were just a few of Judge Merla’s good points! The range of misconduct cheerfully engaged in by Judge Merlo is as follows:
Forcing defendant to admit he was a scumbag
In August 2009, Judge Merla presided over a preliminary hearing involving Elijah Steinbrecher who was charged with receiving stolen property, etc. At the hearing, his attorney Dennis C. Dougherty made a request for unsecured bail conditioned on his client’s release to an inpatient treatment facility.
Judge Merla responded by stating she would not grant the request unless Elijah admitted to her that he was a “scumbag.” Though Mr. Dougherty advised Elijah not to do so, he responded “I am.”
Seems to me that if Judge Merla looked in a mirror and asked “Mirror, mirror on the Wall, who’s the biggest scumbag of them all, she would have likely seen an image of herself.
Denying a witness her right to assert her 5th Amendment rights
When Ms. Rodriguez appeared as a witness in her Court, and while being questioned by Judge Merla, her attorney advised her asset her 5th Amendment right against self-incrimination. This constitutional right didn’t sit well with Il Duce who then sentenced Ms. Rodriguez to 10 days in jail along with a $100 fine. On the same day, Judge Robert Steinberg vacated the illegal order.
Il Duce (Benito Mussolini) conduct
In an ongoing and rather lame attempt at emulating the despotic behavior of her mentor, Il Duce, Judge Merla gave the following performances:
When defendant Angel Mercado appeared for a parking violation along with his girlfriend and advised Judge Merla that he had children and lots of bills and was concerned about coming up with the money to pay the fine, she told him if he “married his girlfriend by the next court date, the citation would be dismissed. If not, she would find him guilty and put him on a payment plan.”
In March 2009, Judge Merla presided over a speeding case involving Andrew Krauss. Mr. Krauss attended the hearing with his mother who then told Judge Merla that her son would have repercussions at home, including that his curfew would be lowered and he’d be responsible for paying the fines and any increase in auto insurance. Andrew then apologized to Judge Merla and told her he would be more careful in the future. Judge Merla then went into a “tirade or rant” for 15 minutes and according to Mrs. Krauss told Andrew:
It has nothing do to with being more careful…he is nothing more but a dog and needs to be trained…
Excessive absenteeism/tardiness
In 2008 and 2009, Merla failed to appear in court for a total of 100 days; however, she had no compunctions about hosing the taxpayers for unearned wages to the tune of about $65,000. Specific instances of Judge Merla’s unexcused absences are:
Conclusion
Given the pathetic record of the Judicial Commission in disciplining Judicial Misfits in the past, one can expect that they’ll gift Judge Merla with a complimentary reprimand even though she obviously deserves to be booted off the bench.
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