Magistrate judges may be the lowest form of judicial life in Idaho, but standing for a hearing in front of one may be the only contact many people have with the judicial branch. Consequently, an Idaho magistrate judge’s professional conduct is no less important than that of a US Supreme Court Justice or a state District Court judge.
The Coeur d’Alene Press article headlined Judge Marano apologizes for releasing friend’s son, posted online on June 23, 2008, contained a letter of apology from Magistrate Judge Eugene Marano. The essential details of Marano’s misconduct are in the news story and the letter.
Some people wonder why it has taken Marano six months to publicly acknowledge that he clearly violated the Idaho Code of Judicial Conduct. While we don’t know for sure, we can reasonably speculate that the Idaho Judicial Council secretly disciplined Marano for his misconduct. We can speculate that the public letter was part or all of Marano’s penance imposed or suggested by the Idaho Judicial Council. We can only speculate, because Idaho is one of the most secretive states when it comes to judicial accountability.
Idaho’s system of holding federal and state judges accountable ranks 38th among all states. Idaho’s Judicial Accountability System Receives D+ on National Report Card was written by HALT, a watchdog group in Washington, DC.
In explaining one reason Idaho’s judicial accountability system is rated so low, HALT notes, “Idaho officials are not allowed to release information about ethics complaints against judges unless and until the Judicial Council files a recommendation for discipline with the state’s high court. Moreover, because Idaho rules allow dysfunctional judges to be sanctioned with private reprimands, in many circumstances the public never learns of the judge’s history of misconduct.”
To get a better understanding of Idaho’s judicial disciplinary process, read The Judicial Disciplinary Process in Idaho. It begins on page 11 of the Idaho Judicial Council’s Report to the Legislature, Governor, and Supreme Court (Year 2007).
Whether Magistrate Eugene Marano is a bad judge or simply a judge who exercised remarkably bad judgment, the fact remains that in Idaho it is very difficult to obtain the disciplinary information that would help voters be better informed when electing our judges.
This is the way it really is. I have been crying EX PARTE for years up here.
Probably one of the reasons things don’t get done is because Hamilin spends too much time in Israel.
A D+? I am surprized it was not an F.
I wonder if I will get a letter from Magistrate Buchanan. Almost sounds like she and Marano could be related or at least went to the same school of thought together.
She allows into court – fabricated medical records without subpeona, consent, or court order through back door evaluations that are kept public and implicates big names like Kootenai Medical Center and various M.D’s as party to these actions and makes it public record. She keeps sensitive information regarding children public as well. You have to climb all the way to the Idaho Supreme Court Committees to get any action done. People don’t even believe me when I tell them that this is true and my daughters have a hard time explaining to people what happened as well. I have no relationship with my youngest. It has been destroyed. They are painted in shame, embarrasment, and guilt that was generously handed out by her. I was actually referred to as an “experiment” by one of the attorneys before Buchanan that allowed a DRUNK guardian ad litem (private) in the door to supervise my visitation with my children, and I was ORDERED to pay for it. That’s how I lost my children – NO CONTACT – the drunk GAL was never available and the attorney and judge did nothing even when they recieved a letter from the Idaho Supreme Court Justice around that time recognizing that huge mistake. It’s part of the public record.
Comment by Stebbijo — June 25, 2008 @ 11:07 am
I can’t believe Judge Marano keeps getting elected.Nobody wants to face
this judge,who hands down harsh, oddball sentences.He’s about as well liked as ole’Judge Balser was.She finally,lost her bench in the 80’s.
We all know,that the so-called important people get special treatment.Take,for instance the Spirit Lake woman who sits on the S.L.city council.Domestic charges were dropped!If it was the average citizen,they would be going to court.
Comment by kageman — June 25, 2008 @ 12:26 pm
Folks with connections do get special treatment. For instance when a Deputy from Bonner County admitted to recording private phone conversations and was privately sued – the prosecuter’s office did NOTHING to protect the average citizen in that county neither did any political representatives. In fact Bonner County defended him in the lawsuit AND his wife. After all the hoopla – he was promoted and it was settled in a undisclosed place and his wife was rumored as depressed and mentally unstable. He is now the Bonner County Emergency Management Director. Nobody really knows who else he recorded and how many tapes were actually handed over during this lawsuit. When I inquired to the party who’s privacy had been violated her eyes became as big as saucers. I thought it was a very bad joke – but it wasn’t. She knew at that point this information would only be known to somebody who had been listening in to her conversations – the sheriff’s department.
Comment by Stebbijo — June 25, 2008 @ 1:52 pm