Judge wants hearing over ethics allegations

Whitefish Municipal Judge Bradley Johnson has asked the Montana Judicial Standards Commission for a full hearing on the merits of a complaint filed in July by a Columbia Falls woman over a confrontation at the Columbia Falls Post Office.

In his request for a prompt and “meaningful” hearing, Johnson said his reputation as a sitting judge is at stake.

Cynthia Howell’s complaint to the commission details her version of the encounter in the Post Office parking lot on July 9. She alleges Johnson was speeding through downtown Columbia Falls and said she followed him to the parking lot, where 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 in the complaint, 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 backed out of the parking lot and went home, but shortly afterwards a police officer showed up at her door to cite her for disorderly conduct. That charge later was dismissed by Columbia Falls City Court.

Howell 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 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.

Now Johnson wants a formal opportunity to respond to the allegations of judicial misconduct and ethical violations.

“I generally deny any misconduct, and specifically deny any violation of relevant judicial canons of ethics,” Johnson wrote in a Nov. 9 letter to Shauna Ryan, executive secretary of the state Judicial Standards Commission, in response to an Oct. 10 letter he received from Ryan that informed him a complaint had been filed against him.

Following the parking-lot encounter, Johnson gave Howell’s license-plate number and a written statement to Columbia Falls Police Officer Doug Wells and explained his interpretation of what had happened.

Johnson told the police officer he was driving below the posted speed limit because he had six free-standing lanterns in the cargo bay of his vehicle and was “cautious about my driving to avoid damage to the lanterns.”

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 to police.

The judge later told the Daily Inter Lake that he never reached inside her vehicle, although he said he did tap on her window and motioned for her to pull toward the curb.

“I contend that any factual representations offered by the aggrieved person are subject to dispute and in need of independent verification,” Johnson said in his letter to the commission’s executive secretary.

He also wants the hearing as soon as possible, noting a delay would prejudice his ability “to function as a credible judge.”

Johnson further wrote that he tried to get an exterior surveillance tape from the Post Office, but was advised the Post Office only has internal surveillance tapes.

Ryan said in an earlier interview that 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 looks strictly for ethics violations, she said.

A clerk for the Supreme Court said on Wednesday that no formal complaint has been filed against Johnson.

Johnson declined further comment on the incident, but noted in his letter to Ryan that he is waiving his right of confidentiality to allow the press to cover any hearing proceedings.

“It is important to the public that the credibility of the judiciary be maintained, to include the disciplinary proceedings and actions taken by the Montana Judicial Standards Commission” he said.

Howell said on Wednesday that she’s standing by her recollections of the encounter.

“It is essentially a ‘he said, she said’ situation,” she acknowledged. “I do not lie nor have I ever lied.”

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