It’s time to get ‘wayward judges’ off courtroom benches

In August 2022,  in courtroom 1A of the Fairfax County General District Court, a woman stood before retired Judge Richard T. Horan. She explained that she couldn’t afford a lawyer because she had lost her job during the early months of the pandemic. She asked the judge for a court-appointed lawyer. The judge found the woman’s difficulty in finding a new job dubious and was unsympathetic in his response, “I am so sick and tired of people like you always requesting an attorney.” Horan continued to vent his frustration with the woman by saying that he believed there was no reason she could not find a job, noting, “I see ‘Help Wanted’ signs everywhere.” He then denied the woman her constitutional right to a court-appointed attorney and gave her a two-month extension to find a job, asserting that she would also have to find and afford a lawyer at the same time. 

Standing in the courtroom, I watched, stunned. Unfortunately, as a criminal defense attorney, this wasn’t the first time I had seen this kind of disrespect and miscarriage of justice. I immediately pounded out an email to Chief Judge Lisa Mayne, who oversaw judges in the General District Court. Later, I reached out to the woman and represented her pro bono. I successfully got her case dismissed, but through the relationship, I learned she was a single mother of two and a domestic violence survivor, homeless and struggling.

This woman is one of many people who have fallen victim nationwide to callous behavior by judges so notorious within the profession that they have their own moniker: “wayward judges.” They have lost their way as judges. 

For quite some time, Horan held firm to his well-earned reputation as a courtroom bully. In 2004, Journalist Chris L. Jenkins wrote an article for The Washington Post about Horan’s disapproval among Virginia lawmakers. Horan was ousted shortly after Jenkins’ article was published but remained a substitute judge for 18 years. Although notorious for lacking a judicious temperament and even ousted from his role as judge, Horan still earned his pension and paid a daily rate as a substitute judge.

When the Virginia General Assembly elects not to reappoint wayward judges for abusing their power, they can quietly return to the bench through the back door and sit as substitute retired judges. Code § 16.1-69:35(b) allows the chief judge of the General District Court to designate a retired district judge to sit as a substitute judge and preside over matters, even if serious allegations of fitness were raised against that judge by the General Assembly. This law was being used to undermine the actions of legislators who have ousted judges like Horan. However, there was a way to fix the problem this law created. The chief judge had the power to prevent wayward judges from sitting as a substitute judge. But she chose not to do so. 

While lawmakers, lawyers, law enforcement, and citizens have widely criticized Horan’s courtroom antics and inability to maintain a judicial temperament, Mayne continued to permit him to sit as a substitute judge. The chief judge was not ignorant of the charges that had repeatedly been leveraged against Horan in his role as a substitute judge; however, she chose to ignore the complaints by citizens. 

Horan was not alone in being rewarded for deplorable courtroom behavior. Fairfax County General District Court Judges Michael Cantrell and Mitchell Mutnick shared the same judicious temperament. Like Horan, both judges had received numerous complaints for many years. In March 2022, the Virginia legislature also censured both for being abusive toward citizens. They both received embarrassingly low scores on their Judicial Performance Evaluations and complaints from court staff, citizens, lawyers, and lawmakers. The Virginia legislature forced them to resign at the end of their terms. Based on performance evaluations, Cantrell scored last among 50 Virginia judges, and Mutnick scored especially poor for “patience,” “respect,” and “bias and prejudice.”

Despite being ousted for abuse, Cantrell and Mutnick also sought to return as substitute judges and continue to collect their checks.

Sadly, the chief judge continued to protect these men and her relationships with them and permitted all three to continue reigning their terror on citizens as substitute judges. How long would Mayne allow wayward judges to violate people’s rights?  The time has come to protect the citizens and the process. Stay tuned.

Andi Geloo is a lawyer and author of “Andi’s Law,” which protects victims of online defamation and bullying. She earned her law degree from George Washington Law School with high honors and practices law in Fairfax.