judge lori bolton fleming complaint 06-08-2015 #3

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Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications Complaint on Judge Lori Bolton Fleming Complaint June 22nd 2015 #3

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  • 1!an~a~ QJ:ommi~~ionon j ubitial
  • III. COURT CASE INFORMATIONIf the complaint involves a court case, please provide:

    -Case Title: N/A--------------------------------Your Relationship to the Case: __ Plaintiff/Petitioner

    t/ Other -----------------------------------

    Case Number: _

    __ DefendantIRespondent

    IV. STATEMENT OF FACTSIn the following section, please provide all specific facts and circumstances which you believeconstitute judicial misconduct or disability. Include names, dates and places which may assistthe Commission in its evaluation and investigation of this complaint.

    Kindly see attached documents ...

    If additional space is required, attach and number additional pages.

    Page I 2

  • v. ATTACHMENTSRelevant documents: Please attach any relevant documents which you believe directly supportyour claim that the judge has engaged in judicial misconduct or has a disability. Highlight orotherwise identify those sections that you rely on to support your claim. Do not includedocuments which do not directly support your complaint, for example, a copy of your completecourt case.

    *Keep a copy of all documents submitted for your records as they become the property of theCommission and will not be returned. *

    In filing this complaint, I understand that:

    ~ The Commission's rules provide that all proceedings of the Commission,including complaints flled with the Commission, shall be kept confidentialunless formal proceedings are filed, The confidentiality rule does not apply tothe complainant or the judge against whom a complaint is filed,

    ~ The Commission may fmd it necessary to disclose my identity and the existenceof this complaint to the involved judge. By filing this complaint, I expresslyconsent to any such disclosure.

    VI. SIGNATUREI declare that to the best of my knowledge and belief, the above information is true, correct and

    complete and submitted of my own free will.

    June 8,2015

    Date Signature

    Page I 3

  • Office OfThe Attorney GeneralMemorial Hall120 SW 10th AVE.,2nd FloorTopeka, Ks 66612

    06/17/2015

    Dear D. Depew,

    RE: Ouster Complaint and Bond Complaint under 5.4 Uniform Bonding Codethat was not mentioned

    Please reconsider the June 10, 2015 letter that was sent from your office to Mr. Eric Muatheand Mr. Noah Day and the Summary Judgment Group. The Summary Judgment Grouprecently had a grand jury petition that was going around to oust all 11th judicial districtjudges due to conflicts ofinterest between them and local 11th judicial district attorneys.

    During the petition drive to try to get the signatures a radio ad was ran on 100.7 ESPN ofMy Town Media which is owned by attorney Bill Wachter, Judge Andrew J.Wachter'sbrother. After just 2 days of running the advertisement on the air Judge Lori Fleming tookit upon herself to use her power inappropriately as a judge and to usurp/intrude into aprivate business contract between Summary Judgment Group and My Town Media andhave our ad breached on 2/19.2015 at 1:43 P.M. from her own judicial office with an emailof where she "WILLFULLYENGAGEDIN MISCONDUCTWHILEIN OFFICE, AND SHE IS COMMITTED ANACT THAT CONSTITUTES A VIOLATION OF APENAL STUATUTE INVOLVINGMORALTURPITUDE'" just like you said in your letterdated June 10, 2015 "which is set out in KS.A. 60-1205 where a public official mustengage in one of the following acts to forfeit his/her office and be ousted".

    Please reconsider the Ouster Complaint that was dismissed since I have now included theemail from Lori Bolton's Judicial Office which shows her engaging in 1. Willfullmisconduct while in office and 4. She violated a penal statute by committing an actwhich involved moral turpitude by usurping into a private contract and calling usdemeaning names like "posse comeat". I appreciate you taking the time to explain whatan ouster complaint needs to be investigated and I am looking forward to Lori Flemingbeing investigated for moral turpitude and willful misconduct I would also like for you toclarify on the "BONDTERMINATIONOF LORIFLEMING"which your office failed tomention anything about. Does your office hold the Insurance Bond on the judges in theState of Kansas or does the Kansas State Insurance Commissioner? Can the Kansas StateInsurance Commissioner oust a judge itself by simply refusing to give a judge any insuranceand making him unable to work because the judge would be unbondable under Rule 5.4 of

  • The Uniform Bonding Code? I was under the impression that there was no more public lawand it was just public policy which is insurance and I just assumed that The Kansas StateInsurance Commissioner could basically oust a judge themselves and was just curious if Iwas correct in my assumption or not Thank you for your time and I would reallyappreciate you looking into this matter since I have included proof and evidence of moralturpitude and willful misconduct while not only in office but "USURPINGINTO PRIVATECONTRACTS"which is a constitutional violation of Article 1 Section 10 "unlimitedright to contract" and not performing ministerial and judicial task while clocked inon 2/19/2015 at 1:43 P.M.and talking inappropriately to the 11thdistrict Cbief JudgeA.f.Wachter's brother attorney Bill Wachter who should be investigated as well formoral turpitude and willful misconduct.

    Lori Fleming and Kurtis Loy received an informal letter for "supposedly" not knowingabout illegally running a phone book ad as an attorney on February 23, 2015 that I haveincluded with this complaint. It shows Lori Fleming and Kurtis Loy both retaliated againstme/us from previous complaints which violates Rule 2.16 Cooperation with DisciplinaryAuthorities(B) which says "Ajudge shall not retaliate, directly or indirectly, against aperson known or suspected to have assisted or cooperated with an investigation of a judgeor a lawyer. There should be some kind of "FORMALPROCEEDING"if the KansasCommission on Judicial Qualifications plans to show any kind of consistency from previouscomplaints because an email from a judicial computer at the 11th district on company timeto breach a private contract is way worse than "NAMESANDNUMBERS"running the ad forLori Fleming and Kurtis Loy as attorneys and they both "SUPPOSEDLY"knew nothing aboutit!! Well Lori Fleming and Kurtis Loy did know about this email because Lori Fleming sentit and Judge Kurt Loy collaborated just like he did in my previous cases with ex law partner,attorney Mark Werner. What I also find to be either willful misconduct is the fact that LoriFleming faxes warrants from her own private fax number which she also uses for Lady ofLourdes Church to conduct her judicial business on but she uses the computer from the11th judicial district with her addressed as Honorable Lori Fleming to usurp/intrude andbreach a private radio advertisement and willfully slandered me and The SummaryJudgment Group by calling us "Posse Comeat" which is a spelling error for Posse ComitatusThe detlnition of Posse Comitatus says it is also the name taken by a right wing, anti-tax extremist group founded in 1969 by Henry L.Beach a retired dry cleaner and onetime member of the silver shirt, nazi inspired organization that was established inthe United States after Adolph Hitler came to power in Germany. The groupoperated on the belief that: the true intent of the founders of The United States was toestablish a Christian Republic where the individual was sovereign.

    Please investigate this matter and check the computers of all three 11th district judges tosee just how many other demeaning and dirty nicknames they have called me because I

  • filed a "Motion for Quo Warranto" against them. There are other pictures from the 11thjudicial district computers which shows they have slandered me and talked ex-parte tolocal area attorneys. Please investigate this matter as I intend to produce these emails at alater date to see if you actually do your job like I did previously form my complaints back inNovember and December of 2014 on Crestwood and Lady of Lourdes Conflicts of Interestwhich everyone acted like I was crazy and then 'WE SEETHE EMAILFROMLORIFLEMINGTOATTORNEYBILLWACHTER"just like Iwas saying the whole time!! Good ole boynetwork, GoColgan and Go Crestwood enjoy hogging 95% of the areas money while therest of us enjoy being the poorest county yet were the biggest town in the SEK!!!!!!!

    Please investigate this matter and take the computer( s) from the 11th judicial district thisemail came from or where this and other communications were sent to could have beensentto!!!!

    Sincerely yours,

    -b'LcmUaEric Muathe

    ~ CCKansas Commission on judicial Qualifications~ State Insurance Commissioner~ Office of Disciplinary Administrator

  • I {I _/0 f IS.1

  • MEMBERS OFPAl'rnLA

    CHAIR:William B. SwearerLawyer Member

    VICE-CHAIR:Ckistina M. Pannbac'kerLay Member

    Nancy S. AnstaettLawyer Metnber

    J. Patrick BratilJudge Member

    Brenda CameronJudge Member

    Mary ThrowerJudge Member

    Valdenia C. WinnLayM~mber

    SECRETARY:Heather L Stnith

    --------------------- -

    ~tate of j!an~a~

    QCommi~~ionon Jlubitial @ualiftcation~KANSAS JUDICIAL CE1I.'TER

    301 SWTE:NTII AVE., ROOM 374TOPEKA, KANSAS 66612

    [email protected]

    February 23, 2015

    Eric M. [email protected]

    Re: Your complaint dated January 26, 2015, against District JudgesLori Bolton Fleming and Kurtis I. Lay

    Dear Mr. Muathe:

    The Commission met February 13, 2015, at which time the above-captionedcomplaint was considered.

    It was the decision of the Commission, regarding both Judge FJeming andJudge Loy, to find no violation but to offer informal advice to both judges to takeaffirmative action to rectify the appearance that they have an active law practice.

    Thank you for bringing your concerns to the attention ofthe Commission.

    Sincerely,

    William B. Swearer,Chair .

    mm

  • STATE OF KANSAS

    OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL.

    June 10,2015

    MEMORIAL HALL

    120 SW 10TH AVE., 2ND FLOORTOPEKA, KS 666121597

    (785) 296-2215 FAX (785) 2966296WWW.AG.YS.GOV

    DEREK SCHMIDTAnORNEY GENERAL

    Mr. Eric M. MuatheMr. Noah DaySummary Judgment Groupr.o. Box 224Pittsburg, KS 66762

    Re: Ouster Complaint

    Dear Mr. Muathe and Mr. Day:

    We have had the opportunity to review the Ouster Complaint that you submitted to thisoffice. Our review included the complaint itself as well as the supporting documents youprovided, which consisted of a Grand Jury Petition and its supporting documents.

    In reviewing applicable Kansas law, we find that the Kansas Constitution speaks directlyto removal of judges in Article 3, Section 15, which reads as follows:

    "Justices of the Supreme Court may be removed from office by impeachment andconviction as prescribed in Article 2 of this Constitution. In addition to removal byimpeachment and conviction, justices may be retired after appropriate hearing, uponcertification to the Governor, by the Supreme Court Nominating Commission that suchjustice is so incapacitated as to be unable to perform adequately his duties. Other judgesshall be subject to retirement for incapacity, and to discipline and removal for cause bythe Supreme Court after appropriate hearing." (Emphasis added.)

    To carry out the provisions of Article 3, Section IS, the Kansas Supreme Court createdthe Commission on Judicial Qualifications and the Kansas Code of Judicial Conduct. Themembers of the commission are appointed by the Kansas Supreme Court and the commissionersare term limited pursuant to court rule so that there is regular turnover on the commission.

    The Ouster Complaint cites K.S.A 60-1206(a) and (b). The portion of that statute thatwould apply to this complaint is (b). District Judges are officers of the state as set forth inK.S.A. 20-302. As set out in K.S.A. 60-1206(b), "Proceedings to oust a state officer shall becommenced only by the Attorney General." (Emphasis Added.) As such, this office is taskedwith investigating an Ouster Complaint and determining if there is reasonable cause to institutean Ouster Proceeding.

  • Mr. Muathe & Mr. DayRe: Ouster ComplaintPage 2

    . As set out in K.S.A. 60-1205, a public official must engage in one of the following acts toforfeit hislher office and be ousted:

    1. Willfully engage in misconduct while in office,2. Willfully neglect to perform any duty enjoined upon such person by law,3. Demonstrate mental impairment such that the person lacks the capacity to manage the

    office held, or4. Who shall commit any act constituting a violation of any penal statute involving moral

    turpitude.

    the supporting materials that were provided also allege as a basis for the complaintK.S.A. 23-3001(c), K.S.A. 20-311d and Judicial Canon 2, Rule 2.1(A). K.S.A. 23-3001(c) is theGrand Jury statute. While you included the Grand Jury petition and its supporting documents,the filing of that petition is a separate legal proceeding from this Ouster Complaint and is beingadjudicated in that proceeding.

    K.S.A. 20-311d concerns petitions for change of judge in cases that are pending. Thatstatute does not provide for a blanket disqualification of judges in all pending or future cases thatinvolve anyone who may have signed the Grand Jury petitions. That statute is applied on a caseby case basis and is not applicable to the Ouster Complaint.

    Judicial Conduct Canon 2, Rule 2.l(A) is part of Supreme Court Rule 601B, whichestablishes the Code of Judicial Conduct and Rules 602-627, which establish the process to befollowed to implement Article 3, Section 15 of the Kansas Constitution. This process includesthe creation of the Commission on Judicial Qualifications and establishes the complaint andhearing process that the commission and Supreme Court are required to follow in judicialcomplaint cases.

    After our review of the Ouster Complaint and all of the supporting materials that wereprovided, we have determined that the allegations raised are all related to alleged violations ofthe Code of Judicial Conduct or the Rules of Professional Responsibility for attorneys.Allegations related to attorney conduct are handled by the office of the DisciplinaryAdministrator and the Kansas Board of Discipline of Attorneys. The process used for allegedattorney misconduct is used for attorneys, not sitting judges, and most of the rules for attorneysare very similar to those found in the Code of Judicial Conduct. Weare not aware of anydocketed attorney disciplinary cases handled by the Disciplinary Administrator and Board ofDiscipline that involved a sitting judge or judges.

    Although the ouster statute is available, Kansas case law has set a high standard that mustbe applied when determining if an ouster case should proceed. The high standard applicable toouster cases was stated by the Shawnee County District Court as follows:

    "[0Juster is not designed to remove an officer merely for improvement of public servicebecause he has been inefficient or acted with bad judgment. State v. Wilson, 108 Kan.641 (1921). Not every oversight or omission within the strict letter of the law will entailforfeiture of office. Ouster is to prevent persons from continuing to hold office whoseinattention to duty, either because of its habitualness or its gravity, endangers the public

  • Mr. Muathe &Mr. DayRe: Ouster ComplaintPage 3

    welfare. Hopkins v. Corwine, 113 Kan. 192, 213 P. 658, 659 (1923). The neglectcontemplated must disclose either willfulness or indifference to duty so persistent or inaffairs of such importance that the safety of the public interest is threatened. rd. Ouster isa drastic action, one that should be invoked only when the evidence is clear andconvincing and the misdeeds flagrant. Tomasic v. Cahill, 222 Kan. 570, 576 (1977)."

    State ex rel. Hecht v. Felker,2003 LW 22389087, * 1 (Kan. Dist. Ct., Oct. 17,2003).The ouster statute requires "willfulness;" "the acts complained of must be willfully and

    intentionally done." State ex rei. Stovall v. Meneley, 2000 WL 34001576 at * 28 (Kan. Dist. Ct.,Feb. 24, 2000) (citing State ex rei. v. Scates, 43 Kan. 330, 23 P. 479 (1890); State ex reI. v.Trinkle. 70 Kan. 396, 78 P. 854 (1904); State ex rei. v. Foley, 107 Kan. 608,193 P. 361 (1920);State ex rel. v. Wilson, 108 Kan. 641,196 P. 758 (1921); State ex rel. v. Duncan, 134 Kan. 85,4P.2d 443 (1931. Although the ouster statutes do not contain a definition of willfulness, the termhas been defined to mean an act "performed with a designed purpose or intent on the part of aperson to do wrong or to cause an injury to another." PIK Civ. 3d 103.04. The intention ofthe officer is key. S. Gard and R. Casad, Kansas Code of Civil Procedure Annotated 3d 60-1205 (1997) (citing State ex rel. Hopkins v, Foley, 107 Kan. 608, 193 P. 361 (1920.

    Based upon the standard set forth above, we believe that the allegations raised by theOuster Complaint are of the type that does not rise to the level required for this office to moveforward with an Ouster Proceeding against the District Judges of the 11 th Judicial District. Webelieve that the allegations contained in the Ouster Complaint are allegations that are moreappropriately made to the Commission on Judicial Qualifications for investigation and any actionthat is determined to be necessary by that body.

    In conclusion, after our investigation of the Ouster Complaint submitted by your group,this office declines to file an Ouster Proceeding against the District Judges of the u" JudicialDistrict.

    Sincerely,

    OFFICE OF ATTORNEY GENERALDEREK SCHMIDT

    ~)J~Dennis D. DepewDeputy Attorney General, Civil Litigation

    DDD/drw

    cc: Martha Coffman, OJA