By admin 
A state commission that examines judicial misconduct issues will hold a public hearing Tuesday in Columbia to examine allegations that Judge Carmen Mullen acted improperly in a neighborhood dispute involving a mentally troubled man she knew.
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The proceeding will be before a hearing panel of the Commission on Judicial Conduct, an entity that acts under the auspices of the S.C. Supreme Court.
Under rules governing judges’ behavior, judges are supposed to uphold high ethical standards of conduct “so that the integrity and independence of the judiciary will be preserved.”
Public hearings involving alleged judicial misconduct are extremely rare in South Carolina.
Mullen, 58, who is slated to undergo screening in November by the Judicial Merit Selection Commission for another six-year term, is a judge in the 14th Judicial Circuit who lives in Hilton Head in Beaufort County. She was first elected as a judge in 2006. The 14th Circuit is a five-county Lowcountry area that includes Colleton, Hampton, Beaufort, Allendale and Jasper counties.
The incident that will be the focus of Tuesday’s hearing was the subject of news accounts in 2022 after a 2017 police report surfaced that suggested she tried to use her position as a judge to influence the outcome an ongoing dispute involving law enforcement and a mentally-troubled lawyer, Ernie Lotito, whom she knew, according to court records. .
At the time, Mullen denied any improper conduct to reporters, saying “The allegation that I was somehow abusing my power as a judge, trying to have Ernie arrested for no reason, is ridiculous,” Mullen said in an email to reporters in October 2022.
It was well recognized that the man had mental issues and, while not a danger to himself, he needed to be protected, Mullen said in the email. “Our fear was that he would be wandering around in a delusional state, in danger of harming himself.”
The incident was investigated by state judicial conduct officials, who found enough evidence to warrant bringing formal charges against her.
According to a statement of formal charges against Mullen obtained by The State newspaper, Mullen and her daughter were driving by a house a half mile from her residence and she saw law enforcement officers where Lotito lived. Mullen drove home, dropped her daughter off and returned to the scene.
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Mullen knew Lotito, a former lawyer, had “a long history of struggles with mental health issues,” and once at the scene, began to get involved in the ongoing situation. On the seen Mullen seemed to question a witness and indicated to an officer she could sign a warrant to have Lotito arrested if probable cause existed to support a misdemeanor charge, the statement said.
Mullen’s actions at the scene “created an appearance of impropriety and called into question the integrity, independence and impartiality of the judiciary,” the statement said.
“By engaging in this conduct on Dec. 7, 2017, (Mullen) improperly used the prestige of her judicial office to advance the private interests of herself or others,” the statement said.
In an answer to the formal charges, Mullen’s lawyer, Dawes Cooke Jr., wrote that Mullen recognized a “highly volatile” situation unfolding before her and did her best to help, all the while acting with restraint.
“Throughout the incident, she acted in good faith, with restraint, and under exigent circumstances, motivated solely by concern for the welfare of a severely mentally ill individual,” Cooke wrote.
“Her actions reflected an effort to respond responsibly to an unfolding crisis in the absence of adequate community mental health resources, without personal interest, improper influence, or intent to advance any private or judicial advantage,” Cooke wrote.
If anyone believes Mullen acted improperly, it is “only because those individuals who observed her actions lacked the information that she (Mullen) possessed concerning Mr. Lotito and/or lacked sufficient training in mental health crisis intervention to recognize the gravity” of the situation, Cooke wrote.
After the hearing, the panel will make a recommendation to the state Supreme Court, which will have the final say on whether Mullen acted improperly and what sanctions, if any, to render.
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