An Oklahoma judge who was caught texting during a murder trial was mocking the prosecutors and heaping praise on the defense team, according to a report released Tuesday by the state’s top court that recommended her removal.
Judge Traci Soderstrom “made a crass and demeaning reference to the prosecuting attorneys’ genitals” in one of her 500 text messages during the trial, the Oklahoma Supreme Court said in its investigative report.
Soderstrom, 50, was busted in July when security cameras revealed that she had been texting and scrolling social media during the trial in Chandler. But the content of those text messages was unclear until the Oklahoma Supreme Court Council on Judicial Complaints released its report on Tuesday.
In addition to mocking the district attorney’s genitals, Soderstrom said he was “sweating through his coat” and asked, “Why does he have baby hands?” She also called the key prosecution witness a liar while she was testifying.
Soderstrom was much kinder to the defense team, describing the lead attorney as “awesome” during the opening statements and jokingly asking the court bailiff, “Can I clap for her?”
The trial concerned Khristian Martzall, who was facing a first-degree murder charge in the death of his ex-girlfriend’s son, Braxton Danker. Martzall was convicted of second-degree manslaughter and sentenced to time served, allowing him to walk free after the trial.
The child’s mother, Judith Danker, was the crucial witness for the prosecution. She had already been sentenced to 25 years in prison for enabling child abuse.
“State just couldn’t accept that a mom could kill their kid so they went after the next person available,” Soderstrom said in a text.
In an interview, Soderstrom said the texts “could have waited,” but did not acknowledge they were wrong in principle, according to the investigative report.
“The pattern of conduct demonstrates [Soderstrom’s] gross neglect of duty, gross partiality and oppression,” Chief Justice John Kane wrote in advising her removal from the bench. “The conduct further demonstrates [Soderstrom’s] lack of temperament to serve as a judge.”
With News Wire Services
