New York Personal Injury Lawyer Blog

A federal Supreme Court in Utah modified charges against a Weber County judge to include retaliation against the woman filing a harassment suit, a source was told.

The woman filed the harassment suit February 2010 in the U.S. District Court for Utah in Salt Lake City. She named the county and the judge in the revised lawsuit. According to the document, the judge is accused of conducting unwanted sexual advances to his chief court administrator. The harassment occurred for about two years, a court reporter read from the lawsuit.

Her lawyer and the woman released a key piece of evidence in their case to the media after several failed attempts to hold the judge responsible. When the state’s Judicial Conduct Commission did not do anything about the harassment, the lawyer and his client released the 11-page love poem, which the judge wrote for the woman. The poem was single-spaced and mildly erotic. These cases are of great interest to courts in New York City and Nassau.

Not only does the lawsuit include physical evidence, but also it lists several advances where the judge harassed the woman. One advance noted in the lawsuit describes multiple times where the judge rubbed up against the woman. The woman also claims that the judge told the woman he dreamed of her naked from the waist up while doing dishes.

The updated lawsuit suggests that the retaliation against the woman was because she spoke up against the harassment, a collegue commented. Her position was eliminated April 2010 when the court was closed due to economic reasons. The suit states that the judge blamed the woman for costing all of the court’s officials their jobs. No court dates have been set in the case.

Continue reading "Harassment Lawsuit Adjusted to Include Additional Actions" »

The Dallas County commissioners, who have seen mounting lawsuits over constable actions, are attempting to get legislation passed that would protect the county when elected officials step outside their boundaries and create personal injury situations.

The county attempted to get a similar bill passed in 1999, but heavy opposition from various businesses and associations doomed the bill early on. Since 1999, the county has been hit with numerous lawsuits, mainly having to do with the actions of elected officials, stated a source.

The county budget office has reported that they do not track how much the county has spent defending itself against such lawsuits. Commissioners have already limited the liability by eliminating constable traffic units and constable canine units.

The county must pay to defend a county elected official who has been sued for doing something on the job, even if the county was against the action and had advised the official not to continue, described an observer. Justices of the peace, who serve as judges without a law degree, have given the county problems in the past. More recently constables have been the troublemakers and injuries to civilians occur.

Dallas Morning News came forward with a two-year investigation recently that showed questionable campaign fundraising, off-duty business relationships, SWAT team use, and towing practices. Several constables have been accused of forcing employees to help with their re-election campaigns. Elected officials like constables are accountable only to voters every four years.

According to a statement, in the proposed legislation, if the district attorney ruled that the elected official had acted improperly, the county commissioners could hold a public hearing to review the case. If four of the five court members ruled against the official, the official would be financially liable instead of the county. Nassau and Suffolk Counties are going through the same steps.

Continue reading "Dallas County Seeks Liability Legislature" »