For the first time in a dozen years, none of Utah's judges were sanctioned by the Utah Supreme Court for misconduct.
In fact, no sanctions were recommended during fiscal 2009 by the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission, which investigates complaints against judges.
"It's an off year for us, which is a good thing, actually," JCC Executive Director Colin Winchester said Thursday.
Winchester added: "It is a first, as far as I know, and that's going back about 12 or 13 years."
Winchester guessed the phenomenon was linked to the ouster by voters in 2006 of two judges, both of whom were publicly disciplined by the Utah Supreme Court.
"I got the impression that judges behaved very well for a while after that," Winchester said. "But it's probably cyclical. I don't think it'll last forever."
Every year, the JCC investigates scores of complaints about judges. Most of them are dismissed by the JCC, which works in secret. When the JCC does recommend sanctions, a judge is named only in the rare case when the high court metes out public discipline.
In recent years, private reprimands have been issued for making a lewd in-court reference to President Clinton's sex scandal, viewing pornography on a government owned computer and calling an attorney a "hard-head" and claiming he was "acting like an idiot."
Public reprimands have been issued to judges for engaging in online gambling, having out-of-court visits with a female defendant and falsely claiming to have completed continuing education courses.
One of the most high-profile public sanctions was handed down in 2007 to former 3rd District Judge Leslie Lewis, who had been ousted by voters the year before.
Lewis was reprimanded by the Utah Supreme Court for her treatment of a deer hunter's brother in February 2006. After lambasting the man because he had sighed and exited the courtroom, Lewis had her bailiff handcuff the man and place him in a holding cell.
The high court censured Lewis for reducing a child sex-offender's prison sentence without giving prosecutors, the defense counsel or victims an opportunity to weigh in on the matter.
Former Grand County Justice Judge Paul Cox, also voted out in 2006, was censured in 2007 for not only failing to complete required continuing education courses, but also for submitting forms claiming he had satisfied the requirement.
Utah's judicial watchdog
During the past 10 years, the number of complaints received by the Judicial Conduct Commission has ranged from a low of 72 in 2008 to a high of 129 in 2005.
Of the 85 complaints submitted to the JCC during fiscal year 2009, 74 have been investigated and dismissed, leaving 11 still pending, according to the JCC's annual report.
