On Thursday, November 21, 2024, the Arizona Republic reported that a Cochise County judge was publicly reprimanded for improperly issuing an arrest warrant that resulted in a man spending two days in jail for failing to appear in court.

The reprimand was issued by the Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct against Judge David Thorn, following an incident involving William Pound, who was arrested after not being properly notified of court hearings related to a dispute over his deceased girlfriend’s personal property.

The controversy centers around a case where David Plummer, the son of the deceased woman, sought to be appointed as her personal representative. In this role, he requested a court order to gain access to his mother’s belongings, which Pound allegedly withheld, including two cats, jewelry, and other significant items. Plummer claimed that after his mother’s death, Pound took actions to remove and dispose of her property without consent and threatened him and his family with firearms.

A court hearing regarding Plummer’s request took place on June 7, 2023. However, according to the reprimand issued by the commission, Pound was never served with a notice to appear in court for that hearing. Furthermore, he did not receive a notice for a subsequent hearing scheduled for July, which led to further complications.

Days before this second hearing, the court did send a minute entry to Pound’s address, but it failed to specify that he was expected to appear or to inform him of the potential consequences of not attending. When the hearing occurred on July 25, 2023, Judge Thorn inquired if Pound had been notified, to which Plummer replied negatively. Consequently, Thorn issued a civil arrest warrant for Pound.

Pound was arrested shortly after and spent 48 hours in jail. He later filed a complaint against Judge Thorn, asserting that he had been unjustly arrested for contempt of court without being properly informed of the scheduled hearings. In his complaint, Pound emphasized that he felt the judge did not fulfill his responsibilities and that he had not been given adequate notice regarding the court proceedings.

The Arizona Commission on Judicial Conduct found that Judge Thorn had violated multiple rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The first violation pertained to the requirement that judges maintain public confidence in the judiciary’s independence, integrity, and impartiality while avoiding any appearance of impropriety. The second rule he breached mandated judges to perform their judicial and administrative duties competently and promptly. Lastly, the commission noted that Thorn violated the rule that guarantees every individual with a legal interest in a proceeding the right to be heard according to the law.

In response to the reprimand, Judge Thorn stated that he issued the arrest warrant as a last resort after exhausting efforts to contact Pound. He expressed that he typically refrains from issuing civil arrest warrants unless he is certain there are no other options to compel compliance with court orders.

This reprimand serves as a public sanction against Judge Thorn, highlighting the importance of proper judicial procedures and the necessity for judges to adhere to established conduct rules.

 

 

Source: Arizona Republic