In Re Strock

727 A.2d 653, 1998 WL 1029193
CourtCourt of Judicial Discipline of Pennsylvania
DecidedJanuary 23, 2003
Docket3 JD 98
StatusPublished
Cited by27 cases

This text of 727 A.2d 653 (In Re Strock) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Judicial Discipline of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
In Re Strock, 727 A.2d 653, 1998 WL 1029193 (cjdpa 2003).

Opinions

SYLVESTER, Judge.

I. INTRODUCTORY SUMMARY

The Judicial Conduct Board (Board) filed a Complaint with this Court against former District Justice Gloria M. Strock. The Complaint consists of eight Counts based on allegations that Respondent repeatedly violated the Order of Forrest G. Schaeffer, President Judge of the 23rd Judicial District, dated November 21, 1994 by failing to deposit in a designated bank account, at the end of every day, all cash, checks and money orders received in the district justice office each day. The Complaint contains allegations of general application which aver the failure to make deposits in violation of the Order of the President Judge, the commingling of a portion of the funds with personal funds, and the use thereof by Respondent to meet personal financial obligations (paragraphs 1-15 of the Complaint). The Complaint then chronicles, day by day and month by month, from March, 1995 to September, 1996, the receipt of funds by her office, the delayed deposit in the designated bank account, and the apparent replenishment of the designated account by Respondent at the end of each month when she received her monthly salary cheek (paragraphs 16-111 of the Complaint).

The Board and the Respondent have submitted Stipulations of Fact in lieu of trial under C.J.D.R.P. No. 502(D)(1), and a waiver of trial, as well as Suggested' Conclusions of Law in which the parties agreed that District Justice Strock is subject to discipline “on the basis of Counts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 and 8.” A copy of the Stipulations is attached to this Opinion.

II. FINDINGS OF FACT

Based upon the Stipulations of Fact, this Court finds that Respondent is a former District Justice of Magisterial District No. 23-1-03 which is located in Berks County and encompasses Wards 8, 9, 11, and 12 of the City of Reading. Respondent commenced her judicial service on December 7, 1992, and served until her resignation on June 8, 1998.1 Prior to her service as a [655]*655district justice, the Respondent, who has formal training in accounting, was employed as a field auditor by the Office of the Auditor General of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. As part of her duties as district justice, the Respondent was responsible (1) for the management and fiscal administration of her office, Magisterial District 23-1-03, and (2) for the safe-keeping and timely deposit of funds received by Magisterial District No. 23-1-03.

At all relevant times, the District Justice Automated Office Clerical Procedures Manual, prepared by the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts, provided in Section 5.11.7:

All money, including partial payments received by the district justice office (e.g., cash, checks, and money orders), must be deposited in the bank at the end of every day. A bank night depository may be used by all (night) courts as well as by any court that cannot get to the bank during banking hours. Money (receipts) should not be taken home or left in the office overnight or unattended. Daily Cash Balancing procedure must be done every day.

On or about November 21, 1994, Forrest G. Schaeffer, President Judge of the 23rd Judicial District, issued a Court Order which provided in pertinent part:

1) Daily Deposits
All cash, checks and money orders received in the district justice office must be deposited in the appropriate checking account at the end of every day. Monies shall not be left in the office overnight. (See District Justice Automated Office Clerical Procedures Manual, Section 5.11.7).
2) Official Receipts
An official receipt must be issued promptly to the payer upon receipt of payment for all monies received in the district justice office, except that a receipt shall not be mailed to the payer when payment is received by check or money order through the mail.

Based upon the Stipulations, this Court finds that from March 1, 1995 through October 1, 1996, Respondent would take her office’s daily receipts of checks and cash home to her residence. She would use the cash for her personal purposes, until she received her monthly salary deposit. When Respondent received her monthly salary deposit, she would write a personal check to “cash”, use the proceeds to replenish the cash she had taken for her personal use, and then deposit the checks and cash to her office’s account. Thus, Respondent in effect was both delaying the making of deposits and issuing to herself loans from funds which belonged to the Commonwealth. The scheme was uncovered when Respondent was audited in mid-month, before she was able to replenish cash from her monthly salary deposit.

Based upon the Stipulations, this Court further finds that due to her training in accounting and her position as a district justice, the Respondent knew, or reasonably should have known, that her failure to make full and timely deposits was improper and that her commingling of personal and public funds and her use of public funds to pay personal financial obligations was improper.

III. DISCUSSION

The Board has charged that the conduct of Respondent set out in the Complaint subjects her to discipline under Article V, § 18(d)(1) of the Pennsylvania Constitution because that conduct constitutes:

1. misconduct in office (Count 1),
2. such that brings the judicial office into disrepute (Count 2),
3. neglect or failure to perform the duties of office (Count 3),
4. a violation of Rule 1 of the Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of District Justices (Count 4),
[656]*6565. a violation of Rule 2A of the Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of District Justices (Count 5),
6. a violation of Rule 5A of the Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of District Justices (Count 6),
7. a violation of Rule 13 of the Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of District Justices (Count 7), and
8. a violation of Article V, § 17(b) of the Pennsylvania Constitution by virtue of her alleged violation of Rules 1, 2A, 5A and 13 of the Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of District Justices.

The Board and the Respondent have submitted “Suggested Conclusions Of Law Submitted Pursuant To C.J.D.R.P. No. 502(E).”2 A review of this filing indicates that the Board has agreed with Respondent not to proceed on Counts 1 (misconduct in office) and 7 (a violation of Rule 13 of the Rules Governing Standards of Conduct of District Justices).3 While this procedure may be expeditious, and the maintenance of procedural integrity may be viewed as of negligible importance in a given case, it does contravene C.J.D.R.P. No. 502(F) which requires the Board, in any case where it wishes to withdraw formal charges which have been made in a Complaint, to seek the permission of this Court to do so, and to support its request with good reasons.4

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Bluebook (online)
727 A.2d 653, 1998 WL 1029193, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/in-re-strock-cjdpa-2003.