Source: Associated Press
Pubdate: Fri, 5 Jun 1998
Author: Hunter T. George - The Associated Press

JUDICIAL PANEL CENSURES FORMER LAKEWOOD JUDGE IN BEER CASE

OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) -- In hindsight, former Lakewood Municipal Court Judge
Ralph H. Baldwin says what he did was really dumb.

It was nearly 8 p.m. on a Friday evening in February, and a jury
deliberating in a drunken driving case wanted to keep working in hopes of
finishing its work before the weekend.

So Baldwin bought a 12-pack of Miller Genuine Draft, took the beer back to
the courthouse -- in violation of state law -- and offered it to the court
clerk, the defense lawyer and an assistant city prosecutor, all of whom he
considered friends. The lawyers accepted his offer and the clerk declined,
prompting him to call her a "wimp." He later said he was joking.

The jury returned minutes later with a verdict. After court was adjourned,
two jurors took Baldwin up on an offer to relax in the jury room and
discuss the case over a beer. He made the offer from the bench while still
in his judicial robes, and in the presence of the defendant.

On Friday, the state Commission on Judicial Conduct censured Baldwin for
violating the ethics code by damaging the integrity of the judiciary.

Baldwin resigned in April, a day after the commission announced
administrative charges against him. The panel of judges, attorneys and lay
people pursued the case anyway to ensure he cannot seek a judicial office
in the future without first receiving the panel's permission.

"It was dumb. To me, it's important that people understand I didn't do this
to be a bad guy, a bad lawyer or a bad judge," Baldwin said in a telephone
interview after the commission's decision was announced. "I'm a big boy. If
I do something awful, I'll take my knocks on the chin."

He jokes now about the nationwide media attention he has received -- he
even made the National Law Journal's list of top 10 stupid judge tricks --
but he turns serious when he ponders the effect on his family and the
commission's treatment of him, even after he left the bench.

"I offered to resign right from the get-go. I was simply disappointed that
the commission found it necessary to continue to propel this thing to
greater heights," he said.

Baldwin, 54, had served just three months in the $65,000-a-year job in
Lakewood, south of Tacoma. He apologized for his actions in a resignation
letter to the Lakewood City Council.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Bar Association, citing confidentiality
rules, won't confirm or deny if either lawyer who drank beer with the judge
is under investigation. But neither has been disciplined so far, the
association said.

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Checked-by: (Joel W. Johnson)