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Disciplinary Counsel v. O'Neill9/7/2004
e of any of her conduct in the Amended Complaint throughout these proceedings to be significant aggravating factors.
330. The panel struggled throughout these hearings to understand Respondent's abusive and volatile behavior. Her intemperate behavior was directed at friends and foe alike. Respondent did testify that she believed that lawyers who appeared before her and court staff challenged her authority. "There is a lot of attorneys that can be pretty challenging, and in your face. And it's probably more so with me than anybody else, because of the tense atmosphere down there. And it has been down there for the entire time that I've been on the bench." Respondent also included her bailiff, court reporter; float bailiffs and Judge Watson as persons who challenged her authority. (Transcript Vol. XI 46, 47-52) The panel majority found no evidence to corroborate Respondent's belief that persons she identified or who otherwise appeared before her as described in the incidents that comprise the Amended Complaint were challenging her authority.
331. Respondent testified that after receiving the first letter of inquiry in January 2001 she has sought counseling with several psychologists, not on a regular basis, to deal with employment-dynamics, human-resource-type issues and to assist her in dealing with the allegations in the letter of inquiry, which she said, were "just absolutely outrageous and outstanding." (Transcript Vol. XVII -- 152) The counseling sessions have helped her put things in perspective. At one point in her testimony it seemed that she was acknowledging some responsibility for over-reacting in situations. Respondent was asked by the Panel: "
Q: You think now having consulted on this that there was a problem before with having your buttons pushed?
A: Well, obviously, there must have because these allegations just hit me like a ton of bricks. So I felt that I needed to go talk to somebody about that. (Transcript Vol. XVII -- 162-163) Asked about the atmosphere in the courtroom by the Panel:" Looking back now, do you think you were responsible for causing any of those frictions? A. I think that I was -- that I am to blame and I share the blame for everything that how I reacted to them, so yes. I think that it takes two to have --have a relationship and it takes two to either resolve that as best as possible or let it escalate into something worse. And I think that you're always going to have conflicts, but I think in hindsight, I knew then and I know it even better now that if --maybe if I had not reacted so quickly or had I not overreacted or maybe if I could have just reached out and grabbed those words back, certainly could have taken the tone and tenor down." (Transcript Vol. XVII -- 163)
332. However, when Respondent was asked by the Panel specifically about her behavior as testified to by the witnesses she adamantly maintained that it did not happen and her behavior was appropriate. "
Q: My question is, however, the characterizations that have been put upon your actions by the witnesses that appeared of yelling or screaming or basically losing control in a situation, you have maintained to this point, I believe, that that kind of loss of control did not happen.
A: Correct.
Q: My question is: As we sit here today, have you ever lost control in the courtroom?
A: No.
Q: Have you ever had difficulty controlling your anger when a courtroom situation --
A: No.
Q: -- arose?
A: Not lost control in the courtroom, to the extent that it's been related here. Never lost control of the courtroom. May not have done the best in taking back
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