Oregon
Former judge's law license suspended for 30 days
PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) - The Oregon Supreme Court suspended the law license of a retired Clackamas County Circuit judge, finding that after he left the bench and went into private practice, he wrongly represented a man in a child custody case.
The Oregonian/OregonLive reports the court decided Thursday to suspend Steven Maurer's license for 30 days.
A Supreme Court case summary says the man hired Mauer to represent him in a child custody case after Mauer had presided over the couple's divorce.
The summary says Mauer didn't remind the ex-wife that he'd presided over her divorce case and didn't get her signed consent to proceed as her ex-husband's lawyer.
Failing to do so would be a professional conduct violation if the divorce proceedings were considered similar and related to the more recent dispute. Maurer contended they were different, but the Supreme Court found that the two were connected.
Pennsylvania
Judge resigns after removal from sex offender cases
PITTSBURGH (AP) - A longtime Allegheny County judge has resigned in the wake of her removal from two sex offender cases due to alleged bias.
Common Pleas Judge Donna Jo McDaniel submitted her resignation Thursday.
The 72-year-old served on the bench for 33 years and has been praised for her compassion toward victims of sex crimes.
But twice in the last month the state Superior Court removed McDaniel from sex offenders' sentencing proceedings for allegedly showing bias against the defendants and their attorneys.
The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports McDaniel wrote in her resignation letter that she was most proud of establishing specialty courts to handle domestic violence and sex crimes cases.
McDaniel served as a deputy public defender and city magistrate before being elected to the Common Pleas bench in 1985.
Published: Mon, Dec 17, 2018
