Despite his professional reputation (including an outstanding judge award from the state’s District Judges Association) and the popularity of his Pendleton Updates blog, Judge Alan Pendleton found himself under the regulatory microscope last week. He now faces discipline from the Board on Judicial Standards for failing to maintain a proper residence in his Anoka County jurisdiction. He allegedly had sold his Anoka condominium in November of 2013 and moved into his wife’s Hennepin County residence to be closer to their children, and stayed there until August. While the details of his domicile seem like a tiny blip on any measure of judicial wrongdoing, it is a reminder of the regulations that Minnesota judges must comply with. With a Robert Downie Jr. movie and a (now-cancelled) NBC sitcom casting fictional light on the lives of judges, it is especially timely to look at the subject of judge regulation.
It is also not unusual for the Law Librarian to encounter library patrons who believe that the judge in their particular case has acted improperly (or at least very unfairly). If someone feels that their particular judge has truly stepped out of the official line, they may want to consult the Minnesota Code of Judicial Conduct. If this convinces them that their judge has indeed acted improperly, they may wish to contact the Minnesota Board of Judicial Standards and file a complaint. Finally, the Minnesota State Law Library offers an extensive (and growing) collection of information-rich LibGuides, including this one on judge regulation. Also consider this interesting article from the University of St Thomas Law Review that looks at judicial misconduct. In addition to its examples of judges stepping out of line, it provides a scholarly look at why we all depend on an ethically sound judiciary.
