A judge was caught scrolling through Facebook and looking at GIFs while she was overseeing her first trial involving a man accused of beating a 2-year-old to death

Insider via Yahoo ^ | July 22, 2023 | Lloyd Lee

[grundle]

Judge Traci Soderstrom, a new state judge elected in November, oversaw a brutal murder trial that began last month. The case involved 32-year-old Khristian Tyler Martzall, who was accused of beating his then-girlfriend's 2-year-old son, Braxton Danker, to death, according to The Oklahoman, which first reported on Soderstrom's courtroom conduct.

this was Soderstrom's first case. She began the trial by instructing the jury members to turn off all electronic devices — a common courtroom protocol — so that they could "concentrate on the evidence without interruption"

Soon, Soderstrom proceeded to check her phone.

Footage from a ceiling security camera pointed above the judge's bench showed Sodestrom repeatedly checking her device, The Oklahoman reported. According to the newspaper, the judge used her phone throughout jury selection, opening statements, and witness testimony.

At one point, Soderstrom checked her cellphone during a tearful testimony from the victim's mother, Judith Danker. The footage also shows Soderstrom checking Facebook and, once, searching and sending a GIF, The Oklahoman reported.

Throughout the trial, the judge held her phone in her lap or sometimes set it down in a drawer at her desk, which can be seen in the security footage, according to the report.

District Attorney Adam Panter, who reviewed the footage after receiving a tip from a courthouse employee, told The Oklahoman that the judge "spent hours of the trial on her cellphone both texting and scrolling through social media."

"It is both shocking and disappointing," Panter told the newspaper. "Jurors are banned from using cellphones in the courtroom during trials because we expect them to give their full time and attention to the evidence being presented. I would expect and hope the Court would hold itself to the same standard required of the jurors, regardless of the type of case."

[crusty old prospector]

The devil’s handiwork.

[Jonty30]

Stupid woman.

[BenLurkin]

You know what you call a lawyer with half a brain.

[nwrep]

Millennials. She is only 29.

[Flaming Conservative]

She’s TWENTY NINE?? No person that young should EVER be a judge!

[Jamestown1630]

The Internet is making our young people into zombies.

[Bikkuri]

Judge Traci Soderstrom








YuCK!

[dennisw]

Judge Traci Soderstrom from her official Facebook page. via Traci L. Soderstrom, District Judge, Lincoln and Pottawatomie County

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CHANDLER, Okla. (AP) — A newspaper reports that a new judge in Oklahoma is facing scrutiny after courtroom video showed her scrolling through social media and texting throughout the murder trial for a man accused in the fatal beating of a 2-year-old. Security video obtained by The Oklahoman shows Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom texting or messaging for minutes at a time during jury selection, opening statements and trial testimony. She can also be seen checking Facebook during the trial. She declined comment to the newspaper. The sheriff says that he acted at the request of the Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints in providing the state agency with video from the trial.

[CFW]

How can a judge rule on motions by either party in a case when she hasn’t been listening to questions or testimony? How can she know how to instruct the jury before they enter the courtroom? This type of action by a judge can cause a guilty party to go free or an innocent party to be convicted.

She should be removed from the bench, but at a minimum she should be reprimanded and required to attend ethics training for judges.

[ProtectOurFreedom]

“facing scrutiny”???

Throw her out and disbar her!

[lee martell]

My Speculation;
Her ringtone? “Ride of the Valkeries”, the famous soprano aria. Better check the volume, Judge. Don’t want to distract your jury.

[Fungi]

No one 29 years old is capable of being a “judge.” She has her morality from the internet.

[Old Grumpy]

“Throw her out and disbar her!”

Agree. She has NO BUSINESS being a judge.

[skr]

Judges tend to know a lot about the case before the trial starts, but that doesn’t excuse her from being unprofessional and discourteous to the court.

[darkangel82]

In some states you have to be a practicing lawyer for 10 years before you can run for judge. I don’t know if Oklahoma has that rule.

[peggybac]

Hobbies: Scrolling and eating.

[Round Earther]

“Millennials. She is only 29.”

She is a mother and a grandmother, and it appears she is 50.

Old enough to know better and will cause the conviction to be tossed.

https://www.soderstromforjudge.com/

[Laslo Fripp]

You forgot to ping Laz.

[usurper]

Wow, now we will have to remove those pesky overhead cameras.