Charles Co. choose accused of featuring authorized tips to close friends, faces sanctions

A longtime Charles County, Maryland, choose could face sanctions after getting accused of featuring legal guidance to two acquaintances who were being facing domestic violence rates.

A longtime Charles County, Maryland, decide could confront sanctions right after being accused of presenting legal tips to two acquaintances who had been going through domestic violence prices.

The Commission on Judicial Disabilities — an independent entire body linked to the Maryland Courts method that seems to be into problems built against judges in the state — commenced investigating one particular created towards Choose W. Louis Hennessy.

In accordance to charging documents from the commission’s investigative council, its investigation discovered that in addition to obtaining inappropriate and incorrect discussions with two felony defendants, the decide also allegedly demonstrated bias versus women of all ages and domestic violence victims and misused judicial methods.

In accordance to fee investigators, 1 circumstance involved a gentleman who was a buddy of Hennessy who was arrested in St. Mary’s County in Could 2020 and charged with 2nd-degree assault and violating a protecting order. In that case, Hennessy allegedly helped his mate safe a law firm, presented legal assistance on a plea deal and reached out to the sufferer in the case with the intent of using that information to support his friend construct his defense.

Some of the proof gathered came from 10 jailhouse phone calls that Hennessy created to his friend. In those phone calls he is also accused of generating disparaging opinions about the sufferer, together with proclaiming the sufferer was misusing the law enforcement.

“She’s not the initial female to do this, and she will not be the very last,” Hennessy is accused of expressing.

Commission investigators claim the decide produced statements that indicated he knew what he was carrying out was completely wrong. In just one dialogue, the charging document statements, his good friend asked him to arrive at out to the decide hearing the situation.

“I cannot say anything at all to him,” Hennessy allegedly said. “Let me tell you anything, he is pretty, pretty stringent about that [expletive], you know, and he would fire me up. I would get in big problems if I said something to him.”

The second scenario also concerned someone Hennessy knew, and experienced used in the past, who was arrested on domestic violence prices in St. Mary’s County.

In that case, the decide is accused of featuring lawful guidance, together with during the man’s arrest, which was captured on a law enforcement officer’s body digicam. The choose is also accused of traveling to the cellular household neighborhood where the alleged assault took place with a relatives member who was a notary, and collecting published affidavits from witnesses.

“Two (2) of the affidavits had been created in the exact handwriting and the Affiant linked with one of individuals affidavits mentioned that his affidavit was handwritten by Decide Hennessy,” in accordance to the charging document.

The fee laid out more than a dozen regulations the decide is accused of violating.

“Judge Hennessy’s behavior provides evidence that Judge Hennessy engaged in perform that was prejudicial to the suitable administration of justice in Maryland Courts,” the charging document said.

Hennessy, who has served on the bench in Charles County because 2005, responded in a filing to the charges towards him, denying he’d fully commited sanctionable carry out or violated judicial carry out policies.

Hennessy said that neither case was a Charles County scenario, that he did not preside above the situations and that he did not “provide any substantive authorized advice” to anyone he talked to who had been concerned in the two independent instances.

“Judge Hennessy admits that he commiserated with selected get-togethers in this make any difference but he did so as a personal citizen and not as an lawyer or a member of the judiciary,” the response stated.

In the reaction, the decide was also characterised as somebody “empathetic of all those much less fortunate” and “an exceptional jurist with a heart of gold.”

Hennessy did say in his reaction that talking with the two adult men on their conditions “may not have been the most ideal study course of conduct for a sitting judge.”

The case from Hennessy is envisioned to upcoming be the issue of a public hearing. The result of the method could result in anything at all from the fees staying dismissed to the judge currently being taken off from the bench in accordance to the commission’s web page.

In advance of starting to be a choose in Charles County, Hennessy served as a member of the Maryland Dwelling of Delegates and as commander of the homicide investigations branch for D.C. police.