Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom.Photo:The Oklahoman/YouTube
The Oklahoman/YouTube
A judge in Oklahoma is under investigation after video shows her repeatedly using her cell phone to text and scroll through Facebook during a recent murder trial for the killing of a 2-year-old boy, the local sheriff’s office told multiple outlets.
“It is both shocking and disappointing,” District Attorney Adam Panter told the newspaper. “Jurors are banned from using cellphones in the courtroom during trials because we expect them to give their full time and attention to the evidence being presented. I would expect and hope the court would hold itself to the same standard required of the jurors, regardless of the type of case.”
Panter said he reviewed the footage and it shows Soderstrom, 50, using her phone for “hours of the trial,” which concluded with a second-degree manslaughter conviction for Khristian Tyler Martzall in the 2018 death of toddler Braxton Danker. Martzall beat the child to death.
Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom.The Oklahoman/YouTube
At another moment, Soderstrom can be seen searching for a GIF while another witness is on the stand.
Soderstrom was recently sworn in on Jan. 9 after she was elected to preside over the court in Chandler, Okla., last November, according toThe Associated Press.
Sgt. Aaron Bennett, spokesman for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, told theLincoln County News Heraldthat the Oklahoma Council of Judicial Complaints is investigating Soderstrom.
Judges in Oklahoma are bound to an oath that says “a judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary,” according to the state’scode of judicial conduct.
“We can’t release the video at this time because it’s under investigation. We do not know how the …Oklahomangot the video surveillance but it was not through the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office,” Bennett told the outlet.
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Panter and others who were in the courtroom told the AP they never saw Soderstrom using her phone, because she was concealing it under her bench.
source: people.com
