SAN DIEGO (CN) — A panel of Ninth Circuit judges this week unanimously found that U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez committed judicial misconduct and undermined public trust in the court system when last year he ordered a court marshal to handcuff the 13-year-old daughter of a defendant.
The George W. Bush appointee ordered a court marshal to handcuff her and lead her to the jury box, where he cautioned her against following the same path as her criminal-defendant father. Benitez said he was simply trying to scare the 13-year old away from drugs and legal trouble.
“[T]rying to help a thirteen year old girl ... can’t be judicial misconduct,” Benitez wrote in response to a misconduct inquiry by the Ninth Circuit. He added that he wanted to change the behavior of both the teenage girl and her father.
The Ninth Circuit's Judicial Council was unimpressed. They found that Benitez "engaged in abusive or harassing behavior" and “failed to maintain high stands of conduct as a federal judge," harming public trust in the court system in the process.
“The shackling of a spectator at a hearing who is not engaged in threatening or disorderly behavior exceeds the authority of a district judge,” the council wrote in their order, released on Wednesday.
"Creating a spectacle out of a minor child in the courtroom chills the desire of friends, family members, and members of the public to support loved ones at sentencing," the council added. They noted that handcuffing the girl was improper conduct and counted as a seizure "within the meaning of the Fourth Amendment.”
Along with a public reprimand, Benitez will not be assigned criminal cases for three years — though because of his senior status on the court, he already had an arrangement to only be assigned new civil cases. In addition, the order also allows attorneys with criminal matters in front of Benitez to ask to recuse him.
The controversy began at a sentencing hearing in February 2023. Defendant Mario Puente appeared before Benitez in his San Diego courtroom over accusations that he'd violated the terms of his supervised release.
Before sending him back to prison for 10 months, Benitez gave Puente a chance to address the court. Puente told the judge that he needed to leave San Diego so that his daughter could escape the environment that pulled him down and led to his imprisonment.
“Me being gone is not helping," Puente said. "I’m not there to pull her from that."
After Puente referenced that his 13-year-old daughter had used marijuana, Benitez asked a deputy U.S. marshal to handcuff her and lead her to the jury box. Numerous witnesses said she was crying during the ordeal.
Benitez asked if she liked “the way these cuffs felt on you” or sitting in the jury box. The teenager said no.
“Good. That was the message I was hoping to get to you," Benitez replied. "Your dad’s made some serious mistakes in his life, and look at where it’s landed him."
"If you’re not careful, young lady, you’ll wind up in cuffs, and you’ll find yourself right there where I put you a minute ago,” the judge added. “You’re an awfully cute young lady, and I have a feeling you have a wonderful life ahead of you."
After sentencing Puente to 10 months of detention and two years of supervised release, Benitez once again addressed his daughter.
“I hope the next time you’re tempted to use drugs," he said, "you’ll remember what happened here today. I hope you remember this mean, old face. Look at it carefully. Remember that some day, those drugs may land you in a courtroom just like this. I don’t want that to happen to you, young lady."
At the time, neither Puente’s attorney nor two federal public defenders supervisors in the room objected to the teenager being handcuffed. Citing witness accounts, the Ninth Circuit said lawyers were concerned that "any objection would make the situation worse."
After the hearing, the teenager’s mom recalled her having puffy eyes from crying. The girl was depressed and reluctant to go to school, she added.
The Ninth Circuit was not pleased. “At no point during this investigative process has Judge Benitez accepted that his actions were ill-advised, improper, and damaging to the public’s trust in the judiciary," the judges wrote. "Judge Benitez has in fact placed blame on others, particularly the federal defenders, for his actions that day."
Benitez did not immediately respond to a request for comment. According to the Ninth Circuit's order, he said he would be willing to apologize to the teenager if he also had a brief opportunity to explain why he had her handcuffed.
The Judicial Council also investigated a second complaint from immediately before Puente’s hearing, in which Benitez lectured the 12-year-old son of another defendant about the dangers of using drugs. In that case, the Judicial Council found no misconduct. Chief Circuit Judge Mary H. Murguia, a Barack Obama appointee, appointed the special committee that investigated the case and made findings and recommendations to the Judicial Council.
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