Lincoln County District Court
An Oklahoma judge could be booted from the bench after an investigation found she texted her way through a trial over the beating death of a 2-year-old boy, with court records revealing she laughed about a prosecutor’s “baby hands,” wondered whether a juror was wearing a wig, and drooled over a “pretty” police officer testifying on the stand.
Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom swapped more than 500 texts with her bailiff during the seven-day murder trial, according to court records filed Tuesday. In those messages, the judge also speculated that a key prosecution witness might be a liar and praised the defense’s performance in the courtroom, asking the bailiff in one text if she could “clap” during opening arguments.
In a 47-page petition, John Kane, the chief justice of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, recommended that Soderstrom be removed. Kane accused Soderstrom of gross neglect of duty, gross partiality in office, and oppression in office.