Saturday, November 03, 2007

Coin-Toss Decided Access: Virginia Domestic Judge Booted

This ex-Judge may have been as flipped as the coin he tossed to decide an access dispute.

The details are from Yahoo:

RICHMOND, Va. - A judge who ordered a woman to drop her pants and decided a custody dispute by flipping a coin was removed from the bench by the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday.

...The decision against Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court Judge James Michael Shull of Gate City was unanimous...According to the court, Shull admitted tossing a coin to determine which parent would have visitation with a child on Christmas. Shull said he was trying to encourage the parents to decide the issue themselves but later acknowledged that he was wrong.

The pants-dropping incidents, the court said, "were even more egregious." The court said they occurred when a woman was seeking a protective order against a partner who she said had stabbed her in the leg. Shull knew the woman had a history of mental problems and insisted on seeing the wound, the court said.

- Garry J. Wise, Toronto

Visit our Toronto Law Firm website: www.wiselaw.net

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