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Conn. judge suspended 8 months for slurs at arrest
2009-02-09
HARTFORD, Conn. - A judge charged with drunken driving and videotaped using racial slurs while arguing with police officers was suspended without pay Monday for eight months by a judicial review panel. Superior Court Judge E. Curtissa Cofield, who was confirmed as Connecticut's first black female judge in 1991, apologized to the state Judicial Review Council. "I regret that my actions may have tarnished the institution that I love," she said. "I've embarrassed and humiliated my family and loved ones, and disappointed my friends." The panel determined, by unanimous vote, that Cofield's "disparaging and demeaning" comments failed to live up to the standards of integrity and impartiality expected of judges. The council could have imposed up to a one-year suspension and recommended her permanent removal by the Connecticut Supreme Court, but instead settled on the lesser suspension. Cofield told reporters she would not appeal. She was arrested the night of Oct. 9 after her car hit a parked state police cruiser in a construction zone on Route 2 in Glastonbury. Police say she told them she hadn't had any alcohol, but she failed a sobriety test, and urine tests later that night showed she had a blood-alcohol level twice the legal limit of 0.08. She also argued with state and Glastonbury police officers. A surveillance camera at the Glastonbury police department captured the exchanges on video, which shows her using the N-word, calling a black state trooper "Negro," threatening that trooper's job, referring to a female officer as "little girl" and "Barbie" and using other offensive language. "When I watched the video, I did not recognize myself," Cofield told the council. "The woman I observed that night is not the woman I am." Cofield acknowledged that her conduct was "reprehensible," but said she did not willfully violate the conduct code because her judgment was impaired by her intoxication. Judge Susan S. Reynolds appeared to stump Cofield when she asked why Cofield's comments were not racist. "Why is it not racism .... hmmm. I think for crimes like bias you have to have intent," Cofield said. "All I can say is I was really intoxicated. ... I can't explain it. Why is it not racism ... I don't know. But if it is or someone perceives that it is, I apologize for that." Other judges subpoenaed to testify said Cofield received above-average job evaluations and her reputation was excellent. Marvin Zelman, a psychiatrist who said he has spent 15 hours with Cofield, testified that she was under a lot of stress in 2008. Her father died that year, her mother's house burned down and her adult children had legal problems. "She's had an impeccable record (as a judge) for 17 years and I see no reason she couldn't continue," Zelman said. Cofield has been accepted into the state's alcohol education program for first-time DUI offenders, and the drunken driving charge will be dismissed if she successfully completes the program. ____ Associated Press Writer Susan Haigh contributed to this report.
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