Judge, citizen clash in unusual encounter

A woman who tailed Whitefish Municipal Judge Bradley Johnson’s vehicle to the Columbia Falls Post Office on July 9 and told him he was speeding on Nucleus Avenue has been charged with disorderly conduct.

But the woman, in turn, has filed a complaint with the Montana Judicial Standards Commission, accusing the judge of unethical conduct.

The unusual encounter occurred when Cynthia Howell of Columbia Falls said she witnessed Johnson “traveling at least 50 mph” in downtown Columbia Falls. Howell walks her dogs three times a day in that area and said she sees more than a dozen speeders during every walk.

Howell said she has talked to Police Chief Dave Perry about getting more manpower to catch speeders, but has been told there’s no money in the budget for extra patrol.

So this time she decided to take matters into her own hands.

In her written complaint to the commission, she alleged that she rolled down her window and “in a normal voice informed the man exiting his car that the speed limit was 25 mph and he should slow down.

“He went ballistic,” she said, noting that he “shoved his arm into the interior of my car. I thought he was going to strike me.”

She claims Johnson told her he was a judge and ordered her to stop the car. Howell slowly

backed out of the Post Office parking lot and went home, but shortly afterwards a police officer showed up at her door to cite her for disorderly conduct.

JUDGE Johnson has a much different account of what happened. He filed a voluntary witness statement with the Columbia Falls Police Department after the incident.

The notion that he was going 50 mph is absolutely not true, he said.

“I characterized the incident as ‘bizarre’ because I had actually been driving below the posted speed limit,” he told the police. “I had just picked up six Coleman lanterns that were free-standing in the cargo bay of my vehicle. I was cautious about my driving to avoid damage to the lanterns (globes).”

Johnson said Howell rolled down her passenger window and started to yell at him, warning him to slow down.

“I immediately identified myself as the judge from Whitefish and directed her to pull over,” Johnson said in his statement.

In a phone interview with the Inter Lake, Johnson said he never reached inside her vehicle, though he did tap on her window and motioned for her to pull toward the curb.

“She shook her fist and made a face,” he said.

Johnson took down her license number as she drove away.

In the police citation, an officer described the disorderly conduct as “gave middle finger to Judge Brad Johnson and yelled at him.”

Johnson said that particular detail didn’t happen, and Howell concurred.

“I did NOT show him the middle finger,” she said.

HOWELL, a registered dental hygienist, said she asked three separate attorneys to take on her case, but they all declined. Her only recourse, she said, was to file a complaint with the Judicial Standards Commission.

She alleges Johnson violated five different rules in the state’s code of Judicial Conduct that governs judges’ ethical behavior and conduct.

She cited violations of canon rules that deal with promoting confidence in the judiciary; avoiding abuse of the prestige of judicial office; impartiality and fairness; bias, prejudice and harassment; and extrajudicial activities in general.

Shauna Ryan, executive secretary for the Judicial Standards Commission, said confidentiality rules prevent her from confirming or denying whether a complaint was filed against Johnson.

The commission reviews complaints as they come in and if the commission deems one serious, it will hire a prosecutor to file a formal complaint with the Montana Supreme Court.

The commission gets an average of 35 to 60 complaints against judicial officials annually, and about 95 percent of them are dismissed. Many of the complaints stem from people who are unhappy with a court ruling, Ryan said.

“We’re not an appellate court,” she said. “We strictly look for violations of ethics.”

Howell has pleaded not guilty to the disorderly conduct charge in Columbia Falls City Court. She has an omnibus hearing set for Aug. 24 and has asked the court for a trial by jury.

Features editor Lynnette Hintze may be reached at 758-4421 or by e-mail at lhintze@dailyinterlake.com