In re Karaso , A10–1746.
| Decision Date | 16 November 2011 |
| Docket Number | No. A10–1746.,A10–1746. |
| Citation | 805 N.W.2d 255 |
| Parties | Inquiry into the CONDUCT OF the Honorable Patricia Kerr KARASOV. |
| Court | Minnesota Supreme Court |
OPINION TEXT STARTS HERE
Syllabus by the Court
Censure and suspension from judicial duties for 6 months without pay is warranted for a judge who violated the Rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Minnesota Constitution by failing to reside within her judicial district during her continuance in office and by failing to cooperate and be candid and honest with respect to the Board on Judicial Standards' investigation of her residency status.
Douglas A. Kelley, Steven E. Wolter, Kelley, Wolter & Scott, P.A., Minneapolis, MN, for the Board on Judicial Standards.
David F. Herr, Maslon, Edelman, Borman & Brand, LLP, Minneapolis, MN, for the Honorable Patricia Kerr Karasov.
This proceeding arises from a formal complaint filed by the Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards against the Honorable Patricia Kerr Karasov, Judge of District Court, Hennepin County, alleging violations of the Rules of the Code of Judicial Conduct and the Minnesota Constitution. Following a hearing, a three-member panel appointed by this court found that Judge Karasov failed to reside within her judicial district from July 1, 2009, through September 30, 2009, and failed to cooperate and be candid and honest with respect to the Board's investigation of her residency status, in violation of Rules 1.1, 1.2, and 2.16 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Article VI, Section 4, of the Minnesota Constitution. The panel recommended that Judge Karasov be censured and suspended from judicial office for 90 days without pay. Judge Karasov appealed the panel's findings, contending the Board failed to prove that she committed judicial misconduct by clear and convincing evidence and that she was denied due process of law by irregularities in the proceedings and errors of law. Both Judge Karasov and the Board appealed the panel's recommended sanctions.
We conclude that the Board has proven by clear and convincing evidence that Judge Karasov failed to reside within her judicial district during her continuance in office and that she failed to cooperate and be candid and honest with respect to the Board's investigation of her residency status, in violation of Rules 1.1, 1.2, and 2.16 of the Code of Judicial Conduct and Article VI, Section 4, of the Minnesota Constitution. We further conclude that Judge Karasov's due process claims lack merit. Finally, we conclude that the appropriate judicial discipline is censure and suspension from judicial duties for 6 months without pay.
On August 24, 2010, the Board filed a formal complaint against Judge Karasov, alleging that she had violated the Minnesota Constitution and Rules 1.1, 1.2, and 2.16 of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The formal complaint alleged that Judge Karasov failed to reside in the Fourth Judicial District throughout her entire term of judicial office by residing at her home in Chisago City beginning in April 2008. The formal complaint also alleged that Judge Karasov failed to be fully cooperative, candid, and honest with the Board and its investigators.1 We appointed a three-member fact-finding panel to conduct a hearing on the Board's allegations.
A hearing was held before the three-member panel for 3 days in January 2011. The testimony at this hearing, as well as the exhibits admitted into evidence, establish the following. Judge Karasov is a district court judge in the Fourth Judicial District, a position to which she was elected in 1994, and reelected in 2000 and 2006.
Since 2001, Judge Karasov has owned a townhome in Edina, which is within her judicial district. She thereafter lived in that townhome except for the time period from July 1, 2009, through June 30, 2010, during which time she rented out the townhome pursuant to a written lease. Also, since at least 2001, Judge Karasov was registered to vote in Edina, listed the townhome's address or her work address in the Hennepin County Government Center on her driver's license, maintained property insurance for the townhome, and used the townhome address to register her vehicles. Judge Karasov was a member of a synagogue in Minneapolis, also within her judicial district, where she taught religious education classes.
On February 1, 2007, Judge Karasov and C.C. purchased as tenants in common a lake home in Chisago City (“the lake home”), which is outside of the Fourth Judicial District. Judge Karasov considered the lake home an investment and hoped to live there in retirement. C.C. and her daughter moved into the lake home. Judge Karasov spent many weekends and vacations at the lake home. In addition, Judge Karasov often spent time in Chisago City visiting her ailing father, who began living in senior housing in Chisago City in January 2007 and remained there until his death in September 2010.
Judge Karasov began trying to sell her Edina townhome in March 2008. She wanted to downsize after her younger daughter graduated from high school that spring, and she also found it expensive to own two properties.
In April 2008, Judge Karasov received an offer to buy her townhome, but the offer was withdrawn later that month. Afterward, Judge Karasov continued to try to sell her townhome. She reduced clutter in the townhome, in the hopes of making it look more appealing to buyers, by moving belongings into a storage unit and giving some furniture to her older daughter.
Around this same time, Judge Karasov spoke with a friend, M.L., about renting a room in her Bloomington home, which is in the Fourth Judicial District. M.L. was receptive to the idea. The two casually discussed which bedroom Judge Karasov would use, whether she would bring any of her own furniture, and the amount of rent she would pay. After the purchase agreement for her townhome was withdrawn, Judge Karasov did not discuss renting a room with M.L. until after she entered into the rental agreement for her townhome.
After a year of being unable to sell her townhome, Judge Karasov began to search for a renter. On May 9, 2009, renters signed a 1–year lease for her townhome that began July 1, 2009. On June 6, 2009, Judge Karasov hired a professional moving company to move items from her townhome to her lake home.
In the summer of 2009, Judge Karasov spoke again with M.L. about renting a room in her house. M.L. said yes, but no aspect of a rental agreement was finalized. M.L. later requested that Judge Karasov wait to move in until after M.L.'s son moved away to college at the end of August. Then, in late July or early August, M.L. told Judge Karasov she could not rent space in her house.
Beginning July 1, 2009, Judge Karasov stayed at her lake home. By her own admission at the hearing, Judge Karasov stayed at the lake home from July 1, 2009, through the end of September 2009.
Judge Karasov did not use any commercial means, such as an apartment finding service, to find an apartment or a room to rent in her judicial district. Instead, Judge Karasov contacted two other friends who lived in Hennepin County, which is within her judicial district, about renting from them.
Judge Karasov had previously discussed renting a room in the home of a friend, B.O., who lived in Maple Grove, but the record does not reflect precisely when this discussion occurred. In an e-mail on July 30, 2009, Judge Karasov again brought up the possibility of renting a room from B.O., but Judge Karasov did not pursue the matter with B.O.
Judge Karasov also had discussions with another friend, M.A., about renting all or part of her home in south Minneapolis. At the time of these discussions, M.A. had been trying to rent her home over the internet. Judge Karasov, however, did not want to pay as much money as M.A. was asking. On August 25, 2009, Judge Karasov sent M.A. an e-mail stating, In an e-mail on August 31, 2009, M.A. talked about the possibility of Judge Karasov renting her house Monday through Thursday for $250 plus the electric bill. M.A. said, “if you decide to rent from me, you could start using the address immediately, but I won't charge rent until 10/1.” As of August 31, 2009, Judge Karasov had never been inside M.A.'s home. In a September 9, 2009, e-mail, Judge Karasov told M.A. that she was not interested in renting M.A.'s house because “[m]y daughter wants me to be on her lease in Minneapolis which I think I am going to do because I give her money anyway.”
Judge Karasov's daughter and her daughter's friend began renting a two-bedroom apartment on Fremont Avenue South (“the Fremont Avenue apartment”) in Minneapolis on August 1, 2009. The rent for the apartment was $860 per month.
During the 2009 Minnesota State Fair, Judge Karasov and her daughter discussed sharing the Fremont Avenue apartment. Judge Karasov's daughter told her mom that her roommate was not helping to pay the bills, and she asked her mom to help. Judge Karasov's daughter also talked with her roommate about sharing the apartment with her mom, and her roommate said it was fine with her, but they needed to talk to the rental agent.
Judge Karasov's daughter testified that Judge Karasov told her how often Judge Karasov expected to stay at the Fremont Avenue apartment. Judge Karasov's daughter explained that Judge Karasov told her that she needed a place to stay on her bowling night, as well as on the weekends if there was bad weather and she did not want to go to her lake home.
Judge Karasov claimed to have moved into the Fremont Avenue apartment in September 2009. The panel “reject[ed] as not credible Judge Karasov's testimony that she began to reside with [her daughter] at the Fremont Avenue apartment in the middle of September.”
On September 29 or 30, 2009, Judge Karasov's daughter and her...
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