DA "Baby Hands" Out Shines Constitutional Violations for Media Spotlight!
DA's hurt feelings monopolize local media channels
Meet Adam “Baby Hands” Panter, the District attorney who was the subject of Judge Traci Soderstrom’s mocking text thread during the murder trial of a possible child killer.
Oklahoma Media has spent many a precious news footage moment on the disparaging comments made about him by soon to be former judge Traci Soderstrom, simply because it is more salacious and “shocking” when he went on the record with News 6 to call the Judge a “Tyrant” in response.
It’s no secret that Oklahoma DAs have a difficulty facing criticism, and the comments made about Panter were unprofessional and made at a totally inappropriate time and venue.
But why are these comments the focus of media, when the 47 pages of judicial misconduct Soderstrom is accused of contains blatant Constitutional violations against some of the most vulnerable people of Oklahoma?!
Excerpts of the petition for removal show Soderstrom had an affinity for denying some of the poorest Oklahoman’s their 6th amendment right to counsel in criminal cases [cause yeah, screw Gideon v. Wainwright right?!].
Example #1:
Judge Soderstrom ordered a defendant to sell their car and hire a private attorney under threat of bond revocation and incarceration before consideration of appointing a public defender would occur.
Example #2:
The defendant’s attorney had been ARRESTED [TF?] and the only concern of Soderstrom was if the attorney still had possession of the money the defendant used to retain her. YES, that is right, the judge brought the attorney up from the jail, complete in humiliating jumpsuit and jail slippers, to inquire about money! Then proceeded to order the defendant back at a certain date and time to be remanded to the county jail “IF [they] WISHED to qualify for [a public defender]”!
This raises so many questions… like WHY was the attorney arrested? and WHY would the judge not advise the now pro se defendant of the Bar Associations Client’s Security Fund and give the defendant adequate time to make a claim with the Bar Association to recover her retainer?
Example #3:
Another defendant, with the same poor luck of retaining the previous attorney, [who found herself on the defendant’s side of felony trafficking charges], was simply told that if they made bond they would not qualify for a public defender.
But wait… It gets worse…
When questioned by the Council on Judicial Complaints, who was investigation Soderstrom for her misconduct on the bench, she simply provided this excuse to justify her intentional violations of Defendant’s 6th amendment rights:
“[t]he practice of not appointing court appointed counsel to a litigant out on bond is not uncommon in many counties and courtrooms in this state.”
“[Judge Soderstrom’s] actions are no different than many other judges in this state.”
Her excuse was quite literally BUT EVERYONE ELSE IS DOING IT!
This situation has soo much to unpack…
First:
It should be noted that the petition for removal also touches on the fact that the Judge felt the DA’s office had lied to her on more than one occasion. This does not justify any of the Judge’s inappropriate conduct, but it does raise questions as to why, if a Judge believes [and presumably has evidence] that a prosecutor has lied, why was a complaint not raised to the Oklahoma Bar Association for a lack of candor towards the tribunal? Could it be because the DA’s Association basically owns the Bar Association and will do everything in their power to protect prosecutors no matter how rouge they become?
If the prosecutor has lied, to what capacity? Has he withheld brady material from defendants? Has he suborned perjured testimony? Why is there no investigation into these allegations?
Second:
How is it, that Soderstrom is not only officially suspended and facing removal procedures, but Judge Brian Lovell, who is facing a felony criminal charge in Texas and is currently under OSBI investigation stemming from TWO separate SHOOTING INCIDENTS, is not officially suspended, and no petition for removal has been filed against him by the Court on The Judiciary?!
Oklahoma may be keeping a potentially violent criminal on the bench while the DA’s cry about name calling [cause face it, we all know the DAs don’t care about the 6th amend. either].
What will come of this?
What will come of all the cases that Soderstrom presided over? What about the defendants who’s rights she violated? Will the State of Oklahoma [Attorney General Gentner Drummond] allocate any resources conviction integrity review of the cases and notify the defendants of there rights and remedies? When will we see the “Transparency” he campaigned on? Or is he too busy drafting resolutions in support of Israel instead of fighting for justice on behalf of the everyday Oklahoman?
Will the sensation of “Baby Hands” Panter die off after the news cycle, along with Soderstrom’s judicial corruption? Only to be forgotten and ignored while defendants “in many counties and courtrooms in this state” continue to have their rights violated with no relief? Who do we turn to when our State Government ignores the Supreme Law [U.S. Constitution]?
The worst thing a bully can suffer is their own type of behavior. Many DAs bully and insult but can barely handle criticism. The system has no tolerance for the smallest infraction but expects much grace when they break the law.