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District Court Judge Benitez to Be Investigated
No Such Probe Has Been Launched Concerning
Conduct of District Court Judge Stephen Wilson
By a MetNews Staff Writer
The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has announced in a news release that allegations of misconduct on the part of District Court Judge Roger T. Benitez of the Southern District of California, based on the momentary handcuffing of a 13-year-old girl, are under investigation.
Chief Judge Murguia said in an accompanying order that “this order and the fact that I identified a complaint against Judge Benitez are publicly disclosed in order to ‘maintain public confidence in the Judiciary’s ability to redress misconduct or disability.’ ”
However, no such action has yet been taken in connection with alleged misconduct of a far more serious nature against District Court Judge Stephen V. Wilson of the Central District of California. Peeved at the emotional protest to his rulings by Westlake Village attorney Marina Lang, he told a deputy marshal:
“Take Ms. Lang in custody. She’s in contempt of court.”
According to her declaration under penalty of perjury, she was taken to a cold basement cell, with offensive odors being present, and not merely locked in a cell for hours but immobilized, tethered by handcuffs and chains to a chair.
Father’s Concern
The incident concerning Benitez was recounted in a Feb. 23 sentencing memo prepared by attorney Mayra Lopez of Federal Defenders of San Diego, Inc. It relates that defendant Mario Puente, who had committed drug offenses and facing a possible revocation of his supervised release based on a violation, told Benitez of his plan to move from San Diego, noting that his daughter was in the wrong company which could “lead her into the same path I went down.”
The memo recounts:
“Several minutes later, Judge Benitez asked a U.S. Marshal, ‘You got cuffs?’ The Marshal continued he did. Judge Benitez then ordered the 13-year-old girl to leave the spectator area, approach the front of the courtroom, and stand next to her father’s lawyer. He told the Marshal to ‘[p]ut cuffs on her.’ The Marshal did so, cuffing the girl’s hands behind her back. As he did so, she was crying. Judge Benitez then instructed the Marshal to ‘put[ ] her over there in the jury box for me for just a minute.’ The Marshal complied, placing the girl in the jury box in handcuffs. She continued to cry.
“After a long pause, Judge Benitez released the girl. But he did not allow her to immediately return to her seat. Instead he told her, ‘don’t go away. Look at me.’ He asked her how she liked ‘sitting up there’ and ‘the way those cuffs felt on you.’ Still in tears, she responded that she ‘didn’t like it.’ He told her she was ‘an awfully cute young lady’ but that if she didn’t stay away from drugs, she would ‘wind up in cuffs’ and be ‘right back there where I put you a minute ago.’ ”
Deleterious Effect
The memo comments that “Psychologists have found that shackling is ‘humiliating for young people’ who are ‘more vulnerable to lasting harm from feeling humiliation and shame than adults’ ” and asserts:
“Judge Benitez’s actions caused psychological damage and harm to Mr. Puente’s daughter.”
The proceedings took place on Feb. 13. Murguia said in the order that Chief Judge Dana M. Sabraw of the Southern District contacted her five days later to report the matter.
It’s now up to Murguia, pursuant to 28 U.S. Code §351, to investigate. She can do nothing or refer the matter to the Ninth Circuit’s Judicial Council, under §352, or appoint a special committee to investigate, in accordance with §353.
After the handcuffing of the defendant’s daughter, Lopez asked that her client be sentenced by a different judge. A switch in judges took place, with Judge Robert S. Huie sentencing Puente to time served, as Lopez requested.
Copyright 2023, Metropolitan News Company