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An Oklahoma judge who sent more than 500 texts to her bailiff during a murder trial could potentially lose her job just nine months after being sworn in.
The chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court recommended for Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom to be removed from her position in a court filing on Tuesday (October 10), which followed an investigation conducted by the state's Council on Judicial Complaints, the Associated Press reports. The investigation was launched after Soderstrom was caught on camera scrolling through social media and texting during the trial of a man accused of beating a 2-year-old child to death.
Soderstrom, who was elected last November and sworn in on January 9, reportedly sent messages mocking the prosecutor, praising the defense attorney and calling a key witness a liar, according to the AP. The judge was suspended with pay and her ultimate fate will be determined during a hearing by the Court on the Judiciary.
“The pattern of conduct demonstrates Respondent’s (Soderstrom’s) gross neglect of duty, gross partiality and oppression,” Chief Justice John Kane IV wrote in the filing via the AP. “The conduct further demonstrates Respondent’s (Soderstrom’s) lack of temperament to serve as a judge.”
The petition accused Soderstrom of sending texts mocking the prosecutor, whom she claimed was "sweating through his coat" during the questioning process of potential jurors and asked "why does he have baby hands?" The judge also reportedly referred to the defense attorney as "awesome" and asked if she could "clap for her" following her opening arguments, as well as sending a laughing emoji to the bailiff, who had “made a crass and demeaning reference to the prosecuting attorneys’ genitals,” according to Kane.
Khristian Tyler Martzall, who was on trial at the time, was later convicted of second-degree manslaughter in the 2018 death of his girlfriend's son, Braxton Danker. Soderstrom also referred to Judith Danker, the child's mother who served as a key prosecution witness and pleaded guilty to enabling child abuse before being sentenced to 25 years, as a liar in messages sent during her testimony.
“State just couldn’t accept that a mom could kill their kid so they went after the next person available,” Soderstrom texted, according to the filing.
Several other texts sent by Soderstrom during the trial included questioning whether a juror was wearing a wig, if a witness had teeth and ogling over a testifying police officer whom she referred to as "pretty" and claimed she "could look at him all day." The judge said her texting "probably could have waited," rather than realizing her detrimental comments when questioned by the Council on Judicial Complaints, claiming she thought, at the time, "oh, that's funny. Move on."