Allegations that a Douglas County judge and a prosecutor carried on a courthouse tryst are serious enough. But according to a disciplinary complaint, Laurie A. Steinman prosecuted two cases before Judge Grafton M. Biddle during their liaison, neither one disclosing the relationship.
The situation discredits the outcomes in those cases and casts a dark shadow on Douglas County’s justice system. The Colorado Attorney Regulation Counsel is investigating, and we urge a full airing of the facts.
Before becoming a county judge last July, Biddle had been a magistrate with the 18th Judicial District, which includes Douglas County, for 15 years. Steinman was hired as a deputy district attorney about 14 months ago.
By all accounts, their relationship began as a professional friendship, with Biddle offering mentoring tips to Steinman. According to the complaint against them, a romantic relationship developed about a year ago. There were liaisons in Biddle’s courthouse chambers, the complaint alleges, and they had early-morning showers together in a courthouse locker room.
The time they spent together didn’t go unnoticed. But on numerous occasions they denied the relationship and even went as far as deleting e-mails to prevent its discovery, the complaint said. “If people read this stuff we’re dead,” Biddle reportedly told Steinman.
Last July, Biddle presided over a drunken-driving case that Steinman prosecuted, with neither of them disclosing the relationship. Defendant Jeffrey Lee Cowley was convicted. In November, they worked on another case as judge and prosecutor in which the defendant was acquitted. Biddle should have recused himself from any work involving Steinman.
Eventually, the judge’s wife notified authorities about the relationship and both are said to have confirmed it in an initial inquiry. Biddle resigned and Steinman has been fired.
Last Friday, the attorney regulation counsel filed its complaint, alleging ethical violations that could lead to the disbarment of both.
By and large, personal entanglements that people engage in should be just that – personal. But when they spill over into the administration of justice, as alleged in at least two cases, it quickly corrupts the legitimacy of any relevant proceedings. A prompt and thorough investigation is in order, with a sharp eye in particular on any Steinman cases where Biddle may have presided.
