.. . . potluck
(Ex-)Judge Coleman’s Comeback: I haven’t thought about formerAlbany, NY, City Court Judge, Cheryl F. Coleman since she inglor-
iously resigned from the bench last summer. But, this evening, brief
ads announcing her comeback appeared on our local ABC tv news
affiliate, WTEN. The commerical calls her an award-winning defense
attorney and prosecutor and ends with ”if you need a winner, she’s a
fighter who’ll fight for you.” Cheryl Coleman’s story is a good object
lessons for lawyers trying to find their place in the legal profession: Do
what you enjoy and are good at, not what you (or others) think is
the right career move, or the badge of success.
Coleman became a judge in January 2002. By March 2003, she wasin the news for, in the words of the Commission on Judicial Conduct,
“improperly assert[ing] the prestige and influence of her judicial office
during a personal dispute between respondent and four women at a
[rock] concert at the Pepsi Arena in Albany, which resulted in the
arrest of the four women.” Meanwhile, courthouse hands were compiling
a litany of tales about the rude and intemperate conduct of the testy ex-
prosecutor on the bench. The CJC complaint said that, in one incident,
“during the course of an arraignment of a defendant on felony and misde-
meanor charges, respondent was impatient, discourteous and undignified
toward the defendant, and summarily sentenced the defendant to 300 days
in jail for ten counts of contempt.”
Faced with formal charges, Judge Coleman tendered a Letter of Resignation
on June 10, 2004, and a Stipulation was filed that same day, which was
accepted and the proceeding discontinued on June 21, 2004 (see Stipulation,
with Letter, Decision). Until Googling tonight, I had never seen Coleman’s
Letter of Resignation. Although she doesn’t admit to any wrongdoing or
even mention the charges, Coleman engages in embarrassing soul-searching
about the traits that made her a good lawyer but not a good judge. After
talking about “qualities which had made me so successful as a lawyer,”
Coleman states:
“In the beginning, my instinct was to confront, to cross-examine,
and to meet disrespect with sarcasm or confrontation. My inability
to back down when confronted, both on and off the bench, made
some question whether I was right for the job
“Over the last several months, I have made peace with myself by
acknowledging who I am, and who I am not. I am not a judge;
Not really.”
I hope Commission Counsel didn’t demand such public self-assessment.
I can’t believe Coleman’s veteran defense lawyers would advise her to say
such things in a Letter that would be made public and placed on the internet.
They do not seem to be words that would help rebuild a career as a tough-
minded criminal defense lawyer.
I wish Cheryl Coleman well as she attempts to return to practice doing what
she does best. I wish she had never given in to the temptation (whether from
outside or within) to be a judge. Let’s hope other lawyers will learn from her
mistake.
I must be suffering from BBS — Bashful Blogger Syndrome. I just can’t seem tostart writing the piece that’s been sloshing through my mind all day on potty parityand the new requirements for public restrooms in New York CIty. (click here tohear yesterday’s All Things Considered on the Women’s Restroom Equity Act,June 10, 2005; see Newsday, “Bloomberg signs potty parity bill,” June 6, 2005)Just in case you hate waiting as much as the supporters of WREA, I’m posting atrio of haiku/senryu featuring baseball, by Barry George.curving leftoh! curving even farther leftthe whiffle baseballretired Reds scout –still eyeing the fieldthrough dark glassesmy nephew’s fastball –I hand back his gloveand keep the sting“curving left” – Modern Haiku 23.3“retired Reds scout” – Mayfly #23“my nephew’s fastball” – bottle rockets #11
