Allentown Magistrate in Hot Water With Judicial Conduct Board

As a Democrat in downtown Allentown, Magisterial District Judge Maryesther Merlo captured 59% of the vote in last year's municipal race. She handles lots of truancy cases. But last week, the Judicial Conduct Board called her own truancy into question, and instituted formal proceedings, primarily because of a "pattern of absenteeism and tardiness resulting in unnecessary delay and continuance of numerous hearings ... ."

In a detailed, 36-page, Complaint, the Judicial Conduct Board cites numerous examples, including 85 cases in which she had her staff enter judgments in landlord-tenant disputes at which she failed to appear. When she did conduct hearings, she would often group defendants together, and try them all simultaneously.

In one case, she refused to reduce bail for a criminal defendant unless he admitted to her that he was a "scumbag." Once he did, she set him loose.

Her bizarre behavior includes a threat to file perjury charges against a witness who asserted her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent. When this woman persisted in her refusal to testify, Judge Merlo called deputies to handcuff this witness and jail her. They declined. She then found this witness in contempt and ordered her to pay a fine or go to jail. Judge Steinberg later vacated that Order.

Without any authority, she also held an Assistant DA in contempt when she objected to Merlo's decision to lower the bail of a Defendant who had pointed a shotgun at someone.

In a speeding case involving a student, the charging officer decided to reduce the offense and the boy appeared in Court with his mother, who had placed the boy on curfew. When he apologized to Judge Merlo and told her it wouldn't happen again, she called him a dog who "needs to be retrained."

The entire complaint, which contains numerous additional examples of bizarre behavior, can be read here.

Updated 12:55 PM: The Mrning Call has a story here.