Judge Censured for Mishandling Criminal Cases
A Massachusetts judge has been censured and will be monitored for at least a year for mishandling two criminal matters, the state Supreme Judicial Court announced yesterday.
District Judge Diane Moriarty, 57, failed to warn a noncitizen defendant in 2005 in one case, before accepting a guilty plea, that he could be deported as a result. And she vacated a conviction in 2007 in another case, without jurisdiction to do so, reports the Boston Globe.
When a prosecutor said a warning was required under state law and asked that the record reflect that it wasn’t made, Moriarty attacked him, according to the newspaper, saying “It’s not required and it’s within my jurisdiction, so I’m telling you, don’t do it again,’’ and adding, when the prosecutor argued, “Then take me up.’’
Moriarty, who has been on the bench since 1998, told the Judicial Conduct Commission that a heart condition caused her inappropriate decision to vacate the conviction (she later rescinded the vacation order). Citing symptoms including dizziness, chest pain, fear and anxiety for her “inability to make appropriate decisions,’’ she said she made a mistake by taking the bench that day.
She could not be reached by the newspaper for comment and her lawyer declined to comment.
