Courts

Judge Given Slap On Wrist After Handcuffing Innocent, Crying Child

Judge told that his acts were so serious that they'll let him continue doing what he's already doing.

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It’s taken 14 months, but the Ninth Circuit can now finally, formally declare that federal judges can’t seize children sitting quietly in the courtroom and have them forcibly handcuffed to the jury box.

Psychologically torturing a crying girl is bad? Wow. Truly a very thorny and difficult moral and ethical question deserving over a year to hash out.

And the punishment for the judge is… nothing! Huzzah for the federal judiciary!

In February 2023, Judge Roger Benitez presided over a revocation hearing of a man hoping to serve a 10-month sentence with no supervised release so he could move out of San Diego and get away from the toxic environment and provide a better life for his young daughter. Upon hearing about the man’s daughter, the judge hauled her out of the gallery, had the marshal handcuff her to the jury box. The judge left her there while she cried, exacting a mental toll upon both the child and the father. In fact, Judge Benitez admitted that he hoped to inflict stress upon both describing his behavior to the Ninth Circuit as an effort to “solve two equations with two variables….”

After he finally ordered the cuffs removed:

But he did not allow her to immediately return to her seat. Instead he told her, “don’t go away. Look at me.” He asked her how she liked “sitting up there” and “the way those cuffs felt on you.” Still in tears, she responded that she “didn’t like it.” He told her she was “an awfully cute young lady” but that if she didn’t stay away from drugs, she would “wind up in cuffs” and be “right back there where I put you a minute ago.”

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Utterly unhinged. Judge Benitez defended his actions as a sort of ad hoc Scared Straight program. Given the damage these actions cause to the credibility of the justice system, the courts have to send a strong signal that this cannot be tolerated. And yet….

Indeed, this whole affair may not have come to light had it not been for some heroic Above the Law tipsters. The Ninth Circuit only announced that it had begun an inquiry into the Benitez incident in response to our coverage. As the final order notes:

There was significant publicity and media coverage about these incidents. The initial article highlighting the Puente Hearing was published on the Above the Law blog, soon followed by articles in the San Diego Union-Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, and other media outlets.

So what has the Ninth Circuit done to protect the sanctity of its member courts? It’s not exactly nothing as described above. He receives a public reprimand and will not be allowed to hear criminal cases for three years.

EXCEPT….

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Because the Judicial Council has been informed that, upon assumption of senior status pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 294(b), Judge Benitez, with the approval of the Chief District Judge of the Southern District of California, elected not to be assigned new criminal cases, the Judicial Council approves and confirms this arrangement pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 294(c) by limiting Judge Benitez’s designation of approved judicial duties as to newly-assigned cases to non-criminal civil matters for three years.

He already wasn’t hearing criminal cases! His punishment was to officially bless his personal desires. Must be rough. The decision also allows parties to seek recusal in any probationary or sentencing matter that he happens to get… another action that he’d already asked for.

Of course Benitez never wanted to hear criminal cases while enjoying senior status. The criminal docket gets in the way of the work that actually keeps him on the federal bench: helping deep pocketed gun lobbyists lay the groundwork for more school shootings.

But let’s not be too hard on the content of the Ninth Circuit’s decision.

Federal courts can’t actually do much to discipline their colleagues. Unless it’s the Federal Circuit, which has decided it has the authority to pocket impeach a sitting judge based on their own deep medical expertise to second-guess the director of medical student education at GWU Medical School. But most federal courts refrain from such power grabs, even when the stakes are more serious and a solid evidentiary record actually exists. Allegations against Alex Kozinski bounced around the federal judiciary for years with no action. And if mere embarrassment is too much, investigations of egregious harassment or involvement in systemic tax fraud simply evaporate when those judges voluntarily walk off the job.

And that’s before we even get to the lawlessness of the United States Supreme Court, an entity that refuses to abide by even the relatively toothless rules imposed upon other federal judges. When public pressure on the Court’s damning ethical lapses got too hot, it announced a new ethics code to much fanfare… and started openly violating it within weeks.

But this powerlessness makes the 14-month delay all the more galling. If a court can’t put teeth into a punishment, it becomes all the more essential that it act with alacrity. The speed of the condemnation becomes the only lever the judiciary can pull to protect itself from the damage a rogue judge can cause.

Reuters reports that, in a statement, Benitez responded, “I respectfully disagree.”

Well, at least he’s learned absolutely nothing from the whole affair. Maybe the Ninth Circuit should consider cuffing him to a jury box?

(Full opinion on the next page…)

Panel reprimands California federal judge for cuffing 13-year-old girl [Reuters]

Earlier: Federal Judge Handcuffs Crying 13-Year-Old Girl Attending Father’s Hearing
Formal Complaint Lodged Against Federal Judge For Handcuffing Crying 13-Year-Old Girl
6 Months Later, Still No Discipline For Federal Judge Who Handcuffed Crying 13-Year-Old Girl

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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