The Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct disclosed this week that M. William Rummer, a judge on the Justice of the Peace, Mayer Justice Court, has been publicly reprimanded for charges of judicial misconduct.  The case is styled as ‘In the matter of Judge William Rummer’ with case number #21-307.

The judge was charged with violating Rule 1.2, Rule 2.2, and Rule 2.6(B) of the Arizona Code of Judicial Conduct, which states:

A judge shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the independence, integrity, and impartiality of the judiciary, and shall avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety.

A judge shall uphold and apply the law, and shall perform all duties of judicial office fairly and impartially

A judge may encourage parties to a proceeding and their lawyers to settle matters in dispute, but shall not coerce any party into settlement.

The following are as alleged and summarized from the filing.

The Complainant alleged that a justice of the peace displayed poor judicial demeanor and made statements that showed an appearance of impropriety. After appearing in the Court, Judge Rummer questioned the complainant about the reasons for his failure to appear at a prior court date, and then he used those answers against the latter to coerce him to plead guilty and noted, “I’m pleading you guilty.” In doing so, Judge Rummer failed to follow proper procedure, such as giving the requisite plea colloquy or required advisories. These actions do not promote confidence in the judiciary as of the Commission on Judicial Conduct.

The order reads:

“Accordingly, Justice of the Peace M. William Rummer is hereby publicly reprimanded for the conduct described above and pursuant to Commission Rule 17(a). The record in this case, consisting of the complaint, the judicial officer’s response, and this order shall be made public as required by Commision Rule 9(a).”

Judge Rummer’s courtroom is located at Mayer Justice Court, 12840 Central Avenue, Mayer, AZ 86333 and can be reached at 928-771-3355. His bio can be found https://www.linkedin.com/in/mayerjudgerummer.

A copy of the original filing can be found here