On September 7, 2017, Juror #30 was embarrassed. When asked what the public would think if they knew about the behavior going on, Shafer answered, “I would hope they would be disgusted by it.” The station obtained a collection of emails and memes sent from 2017 through 2019, in addition to sworn statements and courtroom videos. Watch the latest of the (dis)Honorable investigative series Monday on ABC15 News at 6.ĪBC15 has independently verified many of the allegations in the complaint filed with the commission. In addition to the memes and emails mocking people in court, it stated Otis and her staff manipulated the judicial performance review process, had daily ex parte communications with defendants, and even held a birthday party for the son of a six-time convicted defendant before his sentencing.ĭave Biscobing is exposing more about the birthday party and other allegations of improper contact with defendants. The complaint - heavily redacted by the commission to remove all names, dates, and case names and numbers - outlines many examples of alleged misconduct. The information prompted the clerk’s office to file an official complaint with the judicial commission and notify then-Presiding Judge Janet Barton. In early 2019, she outlined the conduct in Otis’s courtroom to her supervisors in a series of detailed emails. All three times, I rescinded because I feared retaliation.” “They told me if I wanted to leave, they were going to tell her it was at my request,” she said. Shafer, who no longer works for the Maricopa County Clerk of the Superior Court, said she asked her bosses three different times to be transferred out of Otis’s courtroom. “I always told my kids that if you watched someone bullied and do nothing, you’re as bad as the bully.” I live with that every day,” Shafer told ABC15 in an interview. “I’m ashamed of myself for not coming forward sooner. She worked there until outing the conduct in 2019. Shafer was transferred to Otis’s courtroom in 2017. The case was prompted by information shared by Kelly Shafer, a former clerk with more than a decade of experience in Maricopa County Superior Court. Governor Doug Ducey appointed Otis as an official judge in 2016.Īt the time, Ducey said, “Her experience as a Commissioner on both the family law and criminal law benches will make her an outstanding addition to the court.”īut Otis would resign in 2020 while under investigation by the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct. She came from the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office where she specialized in prosecuting sex crime cases and was named "Prosecutor of the Year" in 2010, records show. Otis wrote she has “always tried to act with integrity” and she takes “full responsibility” for what happened.Įrin O’Brien Otis joined the bench as a Maricopa County Superior Court Commissioner in 2012. Maricopa County Attorney Allister Adel then hired Otis as a high-level prosecutor in the office’s capital case unit.īut she released a lengthy statement through an MCAO spokesperson. The Arizona commission that investigates judges dismissed a detailed complaint with evidence and scrubbed Otis’s name from their final findings.ĭuring their investigation, Otis was allowed to resign. Multiple legal experts said the “astonishing and horrific” conduct by Otis and her staff clearly violates state ethical rules and judicial codes.īut Otis and her staff avoided any discipline and public accountability. She and her staff were also accused of regularly having inappropriate contact and communication with defendants, according to confidential complaints and sealed documents. The conduct happened in major felony cases, including high-profile capital murders.Įmails and internal records obtained by ABC15 show no one was off-limits: Defendants, their families, jurors, witnesses, attorneys, even other court employees and top court officials. Warning: This story contains words and images that are graphic and cruel.Ī Maricopa County Superior Court judge and her staff mocked and ridiculed people during hearings and trials by routinely emailing each other cruel and obscene statements, jokes, and memes.
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