It's certainly taken long enough, as any thorough reaming-out does, and that's what the state's Judicial Discipline and Disability Commission did in the outrageous case of The "Hon." Michael Maggio of the 20th Judicial Circuit at Conway, who should have been kicked off the bench as soon as the encyclopedia of vulgarities he posted on an LSU website came to glaring light.
The judge's profusion of web posts--sexual, legal and assorted other varieties--were discovered lurking there like any other stalker on a street corner. And the commissioners are probably still trying to wash the muck off their hands after having to examine all the dirt they found under his pseudonym, geauxjudge, on various web sites. For his mind calls for the services not just of a judicial commission but a roto-rooter.
As the commission's letter to him put it, "The volume of your comments result in much more than a problem of taste, decorum or personal opinion. It adds up to someone who demonstrates that he is unfit for the bench." And maybe polite society in general.
Even while accepting the commission's decision to discipline him, and not lightly, Mike Maggio misrepresented it, claiming the commission had dismissed what may be the most serious charge against him--when it had only decided not to address it. Having already examined the more than ample evidence of his misbehavior on and off the bench, the commission had more than enough evidence against him, and so decided this additional complaint was moot. There's only so much dirt real public servants can clear away at one time. And the commission had already dealt with him as severely as it felt it could.
The state's Supreme Court also did what it could to limit the damage Mike Maggio has wreaked on the judiciary's reputation. It suspended him from ruling on any and all cases still pending on his docket. His voluminous comments on public web sites, the court suggested, had led to repeated requests that he recuse himself from various cases, and enough was enough.
The Supremes are to be commended for acting with speed and breadth in Judge Maggio's sad case. His dubious dealings with defendants, prosecutors and lobbyists surfaced after he'd reduced a $5.2-million judgment in favor of a nursing-home patient's family (the patient herself had died) to a mere $1 million--even while the judge was benefiting from all the Political Action Committees these lobbyists had set up for him.
That tangled web still needs unweaving by authorities state and federal, including the FBI. But this poor, overburdened commission scarcely had time or energy to go into all that when Judge Maggio's other improprieties were quite sufficient to merit the harshest penalty it may be able to hand out. He will be barred from holding a judicial position in this state--forever.
With a record like his, can you believe it, Mike Maggio was planning to run for the state Court of Appeals. The nerve. But the lower he sank, the higher Judge Maggio's ambitions rose. Now the sooner this judge becomes a former judge, the cleaner the state's judiciary will be.
In the meantime--get this--this judge devoid of judgment is still drawing his $138,000-plus annual salary from the taxpayers, every dollar of which he needs to pay back or at least contribute to an honest charity. For as long as he continues to be a drain on the taxpayers of this state, the scandal he's perpetuated will linger. Like a bad smell no one around him can ignore.
As his crude web posts more than amply demonstrated, this judge doesn't know how to be a judge. Or a man.
Editorial on 08/08/2014