► Judge Victoria Seitz of Kent, WA; Judge Roy Bean Wannabee |
Judge Victoria Seitz of
The state of The Washington State Commission on Judicial Conduct found Stephen guilty of the following misconduct. In one matter, Judge Seitz found it acceptable to encourage [coerce] twelve (12) defendants on a so-called busy calendar day to enter please of guilty to Driving While License Suspended in the Third Degree without the required written guilty pleas in exchange for a promised sentence. On the day in question, Vicky presided over a full arraignment docket. At the outset Vicki announced that she would allow anyone charged with Driving While License Suspended in the Third Degree to plead guilty, without a written plea form, and the sentence would be $248 or 25 hours of community service. Vicki also implied that if the defendants did not plead that day, the sentence may not be made available at a later time by any judge. The King County Public Defender present in court objected to proceeding in this fashion, advising Seitz that Washington Law required written guilty plea forms. Subsequently, 12 defendants took advantage of Vicki’s unilateral offer to resolve their cases. The District Attorney objected each time as did the Public Defender announced in each instance that the defendants were entering these pleas against their advice. As a consequence of her misconduct, the enablers for Judicial Misfits sitting on the Washington Commission on Judicial Conduct punished Vicki by gifting her with a complimentary admonition. As we speak (ca. June 2014), Vicki remains sitting as a King County District Court Judge located in Kent, Washington, which is a suburb of Seattle.
FYI: Judge Roy Bean was an infamous Justice of the Peace and saloon owner in |