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Judicial Conduct Board rules against diversionary program for Toothman

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In a ruling last week, the state Court of Judicial Discipline declined to allow Greene County President Judge Farley Toothman to enter a diversion program.

The court, which hears allegations of judicial misconduct, noted the opposing views on the value of a program in Toothman’s case.

“The court will not order judicial diversion unless both” the Judicial Conduct Board, which brought the charges against Toothman, and the judge waive their constitutional right to a hearing.

“The brief of the Judicial Conduct Board makes clear that the board is not waiving its right to a hearing or in any way agreeing to judicial diversion” for Toothman.

“Absent the consent of both parties, judicial diversion is denied.”

The court also gave Toothman and his attorneys time to file an answer, which would be due next month, to its recent decision.

Earlier in August, attorneys for the Judicial Conduct Board wrote that if the allegations against Toothman are proven, “the misconduct he is alleged to have engaged in would likely result in the imposition of serious discipline,” and diversion programs are usually reserved for judges who are unlikely to be suspended or removed from office.

In response, the court, in a two-page order and opinion, pointed out that “judicial diversion is, in essence, a pretrial program for first-time, relatively less serious, offenders.”

In May, Toothman was accused of jailing a woman who made a shoplifting allegation against a law clerk, retaliating against a janitorial employee, and improperly handling two cases, one involving division of marital property and the other, protection from abuse.

Toothman, 64, continues to hear cases while action by the Court of Judicial Discipline is pending, according to Greene County Court Administrator Sheila Rode.

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