“Judge Lokuta,” a bizarre reality show that played on the second floor of the Luzerne County Courthouse for the past 16 seasons, has been cancelled by the Judical Conduct Board (JCB) of Pennsylvania. It will not be replaced by Jay Leno. Hopefully, it will be replaced by something boring, like an actual working courtroom where cases are heard without drama. I know that sounds very C-Span, but hear me out as I explain why I think this was the right decision.
The run ended Tuesday in Harrisburg, when the board voted 6-1 to strip Ann Lokuta of her judgeship. They also ordered her never to hold such a position again.
I can’t say I blame them, but the reaction of the locals has been somewhat puzzling. Many say Lokuta’s only misstep was being a thorn in the side of Luzerne County’s Judge Club for Men. I say, “Focus!”
The narrative of Ann Lokuta featured moments straight out of some B-movie cast in the working class hamlet of Luzerne County. Here was the Coal Miner’s Daughter from Dupont, an Upward Bound student who made good in a world where everything and everybody was against her. In 1991, she launched the famous “It’s Time” campaign, hinting she would be not only the best candidate for a job on the Luzerne County bench, but a woman as well. Never mind that she had very little experience. In the early 1990s, that seemed almost impossible, but the judge prevailed. In 1992, she ascended to the courtroom on the second floor of the dingdome, an ornate place with poor acoustics. All seemed well, but it wasn’t.
Judge Lokuta forgot where she came from almost immediately. She was known to berate people who didn’t address her with a proper title. Her constant claim of being overworked and under the microscope didn’t quite mesh with her time sheet. She became the Murphy Brown of the courthouse, with a revolving door of employees who last anywhere from a few minutes to several years.
There was an attempt to bring this to the attention of the Judicial Conduct Board in the 1990s, but they employed the old “hear no evil, see no evil” strategy of dealing with the situation. Many people were astounded the JCB turned a blind eye and it was thought Judge Lokuta had more lives than Morris the Cat.
Left to her own devices, Judge Lokuta racked up an impressive record of boorish behavior. Much of it is detailed in the 24-page complaint filed by the JCB in November of 2007. The document detailed the erratic soap opera starring Her Honor, peppered with words like “discourteous, rude, impatient, undignified, abrasive, unprofessional, shabby, sarcastic, demeaning, unreasonably critical and condescending.” Geez, what took you fellas so long to show up?
The timing of the complaint was certainly questioned. Was Judge Lokuta engaged in some sort of toe-stepping tango with the gents on the third floor? Was the JCB’s interest in the courthouse motivated by a personality conflict? Was it revenge for some timely whistle-blowing?
People have the right to raise these issues. Certainly, there’s an unnatural fraternity between some of the players in this case. That being said, I once again beg you to focus.
The complaint paints a portrait of the judge as the Lord and Master of a cast of puppets serving her both in and out of court. There’s a little something for everyone in this drama. Attorneys were humiliated. Less intelligent human beings, probably scared out of their wits with the prospect of appearing in court, were talked to in the Queen’s English and in foreign tongues at points. Key rattlers were chastised. Members of the staff were told they were “on the upper rung of the pecking order.” One was a “first lieutenant” and the judge was the “captain.”
There was friction between the judge and court personnel. Then, there’s a claim that employees were dispatched to the judge’s home to perform yard work, clean toilets and wrap her antiques.
Had enough? This was a waste of court time and the taxpayer’s money. Even feminist Helen Reddy would want a refund.
Here’s my argument: If Judge Lokuta went to work, heard cases, kept the drama down to a dull roar and played well with others, we wouldn’t be having this conversation. She must have known there was a large target printed on the back of her robe. She should have done things above and beyond the call of duty and made the women of Luzerne County proud. Instead, she slacked, shopped, showed up late and couldn’t control her courtroom. In a normal office setting, she would have been bounced out years ago. Instead, it took the testimony of dozens of eyewitnesses and four years of time to get the job done. The system has been more than fair to Ann Lokuta. It’s time; time for her to go quietly into the night.
Read the complaint here:
http://www.judicialconductboardofpa.org/Lokuta%20Press%20Release%20w%20complaint%2011-27-06.pdf
Corbett
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