In a recent legal filing, Municipal Court Judge Dawn A. Segal, an open lesbian, denied that she had any motive to fix cases on behalf of a corrupt judge.
Segal stands accused of attempting to curry favor with then-Municipal Court Judge Josephs C. Waters by doing his bidding on three cases pending before her.
Segal isn’t charged with any criminal wrongdoing. But her multiple conversations with Waters in 2011-12 allegedly violated the state’s ethics code for judges. As a result, she’s been suspended without pay since Feb. 2 and faces the possibility of additional discipline.
State officials contend Segal had a motive to violate the ethics code in order to curry favor with Waters, which Segal denies.
The FBI intercepted at least seven phone conversations between Segal and Waters from September 2011 to July 2012. In the conversations, Segal indicated to Waters that she’d rule consistent with his wishes on three cases — and later informed him that she did so.
In one case, Segal granted a continuance. In another case, she granted a petition for reconsideration. And in a third case, she prematurely downgraded a gun offense from a felony to a misdemeanor.
In an April 14 legal filing, attorneys for Segal emphasized that she would have ruled the same way without Waters’ input.
The filing reiterates that none of Segal’s rulings was motivated by a desire to curry favor with Waters — who was politically well-connected at the time.
“[N]o clear and convincing evidence can be established to prove why Judge Segal acted as she did,” the filing states. “The evidence does establish that Judge Segal has wrestled for years to try to answer that question. She may never know. And this court should make no factual findings as to why she even took [Waters’] calls.”
Segal’s attorneys acknowledged in the filing that the conversations were inappropriate, but noted that Segal reported them to state officials in a relatively timely manner.
Segal cooperated with federal investigators to the best of her ability beginning in September 2012 and voluntarily testified before a grand jury, according to the filing.
Segal maintains she conveyed to Waters that he was in a special position to influence her, but denies that she tailored any of her rulings to suit him.
Segal also denies that she interfered with the administration of justice or brought disrepute to the judiciary.
Waters is currently incarcerated in a federal prison due to a fraud conviction. His scheduled release date is Nov. 27, 2016.
In one case, Segal told Waters: “I took care of it.” In another case, she told Waters: “All for you. Anything.”
Transcripts of their phone conversations are included in a 44-page brief, filed by the state’s Judicial Conduct Board March 28.
“Judge Segal wanted to give former Judge Waters the impression that she did what he asked her to do in each of the three cases,” the board’s brief states. “Her rulings favored the litigants for whom he requested special consideration.”
By appearing receptive to Waters’ requests for favors, Segal indirectly encouraged Waters to seek additional favors, the board contends.
The board also claims that Segal’s tone of voice on the FBI tapes indicates a willingness to do Waters’ bidding.
“By her intentional efforts to reassure former Judge Waters that she carried out his requests for special consideration, Judge Segal tried to curry favor and nurture her friendship with him,” the board stated in its brief.
The board also stated Segal’s conduct “has a deleterious effect upon the administration of justice” and “the sum of all of Judge Segal’s conduct was so extreme that it brought disrepute upon the entire judiciary.”
Prior to her suspension, Segal, 56, had been on limited duty. In January, a three-judge panel of the Court of Judicial Discipline held a daylong hearing on the matter. The court can impose discipline ranging from a reprimand to removal from the judiciary.
Segal desires to return to the bench, but she’s not seeking to be compensated for her withheld wages, according to her attorneys’ filing.
Neither side had a comment for this story.