Judges In Lindsay Lohan’s DUI Case Are Disciplined
Posted on July 16, 2012 Written By: iadminlaw
Judges involved in high-profile celebrity court cases need to be fair and balanced in all their legal proceedings. The failure to uphold proper legal procedures may result in intense scrutiny and the appearance of favoritism, especially in cases involving troubled actress Lindsay Lohan.
Two veteran Los Angeles County judges were disciplined by a state oversight panel for their handling of the high-profile DUI case of actress Lohan.
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The documents revealed that L.A. County Superior Court judges Marsha Revel and Elden Fox at the Beverly Hills courthouse were reproached by the state’s Commission on Judicial Performance for two incidents that occurred during a period of intense media attention in 2010, culminating in the star’s two-week term behind bars.
The commission acted on accusations that Revel improperly met alone with an attorney who wanted to take over Lohan’s defense, and that Fox erred in denying the actress bail on a relatively minor charge and refusing to hear her attorney’s arguments.
The commission’s involvement in Lohan’s case was spurred, at least in part, by a complaint filed in January 2011 by former Los Angeles County court spokesman Allan Parachini soon after he was fired for allegedly leaking information to the media. Parachini denied the leak and accused the court of discriminating against him because he suffers from severe depression.
In his letter to the commission, Parachini said he witnessed impropriety by Revel and Fox that he said was “due, in part, to the reality that many judges get caught up in celebrity litigation and part company with their experience and common sense.” The commission responded in a letter dated December 19 that the agency had “taken an appropriate corrective action as to each judge named” in Parachini’s complaint.
The commission, which investigates claims of judicial misconduct, issues discipline only in rare cases. Of 1,138 complaints it received in 2011, 42 resulted in discipline. All but six judges were disciplined in private.
The agency’s annual report includes summaries of private discipline cases without naming the judges or parties involved. Two case descriptions included in the 2011 report closely mirrored Revel and Fox’s handling of Lohan’s case, suggesting that the judges received “advisory letters,” the lowest level of discipline.
One judicial expert compared the commission’s action to a “wrist-slap” but said the judges’ conduct involved “fairly basic” legal mistakes.
Revel did not respond to requests for comment. Fox declined to comment, saying he would not confirm that he had been disciplined, but added: “You can read about it in the commission’s report.”
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