“Duh, gee, judge, I didn’t know I was breaking the law.”
What judge hasn’t heard that lame line before – and responded, automatically, like every other judge that ever judged, with that familiar old chestnut: “Ignorance of the law is no excuse”?
Along with “I’m innocent,” “I didn’t do it,” or “It wasn’t me,” “I didn’t know I was breaking the law” is one of the most popular go-to phrases of perps in the dock. Without question, there are defendants who honestly did not know they were breaking the law. There are others, too, however, who knew exactly what they were doing, knew that it was illegal and did it anyway, but they too may claim ignorance. In either case, whether they knew they were breaking the law or not is irrelevant, unless there’s some consideration for intent.
None of that is surprising. What is surprising is when that same lame line is used by judges who’ve gotten caught doing things they shouldn’t have. If ignorance of the law is no excuse for the layman, surely it’s even less of an excuse for a judge – who, it would seem reasonable to assume, is an expert on the subject.
So, when Raleigh County Family Court Judge Louise Goldston violates several rules in the Code of Judicial Conduct and then claims ignorance of them, even admitting that she’s broken some of them repeatedly, should we give her a pass, laugh it off, slap her on the wrists or throw the book at her like she would do to someone in her court?
According to the Formal Statement of Charges from the state Supreme Court, Goldston violated Rules 1.1 (compliance with the law), Rule 1.2 (confidence in the judiciary), Rule 1.3 (avoiding abuse of prestige of office), Rule 2.2 (impartiality and fairness), Rule 2.4(B) (external influences), Rule 2.5 (competence, diligence and cooperation) and Rule 3.1(A)(B)(D) (extrajudicial activities in general).
Goldston is no neophyte. She’s been a family court judge or family law master for 26 years. Clearly, in her case, ignorance of the law is no excuse.