Inquiry Concerning Judge Valeriano Saucedo

Summary

The opinion adopts the special masters’ factual findings that Judge Saucedo created and used an anonymous sexually explicit letter to manipulate his courtroom clerk, pressured her through gifts and repeated communications, and made false statements to conceal his conduct. It concludes that the misconduct violated multiple judicial-ethics canons, constituted willful misconduct when undertaken in a judicial capacity and prejudicial misconduct otherwise, and warranted removal because of its calculated dishonesty and its effect on public confidence in the judiciary. The visible text does not include the final disposition portion of the opinion, so the disposition cannot be determined with certainty from the supplied text.