CHANDLER, Oklahoma — The new judge's first murder trial was a wrenching one — involving the fatal beating of a 2-year-old boy.
Prosecutors alleged Braxton Danker, who died on Mother's Day in 2018, had been treated like a punching bag.
At the trial's start last month, Lincoln County (Oklahoma) District Judge Traci Soderstrom told the jury to power off or place in airplane mode all electronic devices.
"This will allow you to concentrate on the evidence without interruption," she said, according to the instructions filed in the case.
She then got on her own cellphone over and over again.
Soderstrom, 50, now is is facing scrutiny for scrolling through Facebook and texting on her cellphone throughout the seven-day trial.
Security videos — obtained by The Oklahoman, part of the USA TODAY Network — show the judge texting or messaging for minutes at a time during jury selection, opening statements and testimony. Once she searched for and sent a GIF — internet lingo for an animated image.
She also can be seen checking Facebook during the trial that ended with a second-degree manslaughter conviction. She declined to comment because the verdict could still be appealed.
Judges are prohibited from discussing pending cases, she said.
The ceiling security camera was moved last week and is no longer directly over the judge's bench, apparently at her instruction.
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District Attorney Adam Panter said he reviewed the surveillance video himself after receiving a tip from courthouse personnel. He said his review found the judge "spent hours of the trial on her cellphone both texting and scrolling through social media."
"It is both shocking and disappointing," he said. "Jurors are banned from using cellphones in the courtroom during trials because we expect them to give their full time and attention to the evidence being presented. I would expect and hope the Court would hold itself to the same standard required of the jurors, regardless of the type of case."
The prosecutor said he also was concerned the judge had the camera moved rather than address the issue of her behavior.
The Oklahoma Council on Judicial Complaints is the state agency that receives and investigates accusations of misconduct by judges. Sheriff Charlie Dougherty confirmed Wednesday he provided videos from the trial to the council at its request.
Videos show judge holding phone in her lap to text, scroll Facebook
The 20 videos obtained by The Oklahoman cover stretches from six days of the trial.
She held the cellphone in her lap, below the top of the judge's "bench," while using it, the videos show. Other times, she set it down in an open pullout drawer. The district attorney said he never saw it.
On trial was Khristian Tyler Martzall, 32, of Wellston, Oklahoma.
He was charged in the death of his then-girlfriend's son.
Prosecutors at trial asked jurors to find him guilty of first-degree murder either because he abused the boy himself or permitted the girlfriend to do so.
Jurors convicted him instead of second-degree manslaughter. They wrote "Time Served" for his sentence.
Defense attorney Velia Lopez said the judge did a great job.
"So if she was or was not on the phone, I did not see it," the attorney told The Oklahoman.
Martzall had been in jail for more than five years.
The maximum punishment for second-degree manslaughter is four years in prison. At the formal sentencing Tuesday, the judge imposed the maximum but agreed Martzall had already completed his time.
Before the formal sentencing, the judge warned those in the courtroom they would be held in direct contempt of court if she heard or saw their cellphones.
What happened at trial?
Martzall did not testify at trial. He told an investigator in 2018 he had never disciplined the child himself.
Testifying against him was the victim's mother, Judith Danker. She pleaded guilty to enabling child abuse under a plea deal in 2019. She had been charged with first-degree murder, too.
She is serving 25 years in prison.
The judge can be seen on her cellphone extensively during the mother's testimony even when the witness started crying.
Jurors also were read testimony from the preliminary hearing about the boy being spanked.
"He wanted to keep playing, and he would get in trouble," a neighbor, Joshua Garrison, had said. "They both disciplined him, yelling at him to get in the house and he would get spankings."
Jurors were read a transcript of Garrison's testimony from the preliminary hearing because the witness had died. Garrison had said he saw Martzall use a belt on the boy.
Issue of cellphones in court is a novel one
The Oklahoma Court of Criminal Appeals has never addressed the issue of a judge texting during a trial. It has long warned judges, though, of the duty at a criminal trial "to be present during each and every stage of the proceedings."
The appeals court has warned it will throw out a criminal conviction if a judge loses control of the trial by being absent from the bench during proceedings.
What do other judges do?
The Oklahoman asked more than a dozen active and former district judges from across the state about their cellphone use in court.
Most said they don't at all in trial because they must stay alert to rule on objections and come up with appropriate jury instructions. Some said they won't even take their cellphones into the courtroom.
Others said they have texted only to further court business, like alerting a bailiff a break is coming.
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Investigations by the Council on Judicial Complaints can result in disciplinary actions. The Oklahoma Court on the Judiciary removed an Oklahoma County judge from office in 2020 after a council investigation.
The council will not confirm investigations are underway because state law stipulates that all proceedings must be held to the same secrecy as those before a grand jury.
Soderstrom is being represented by a former judge, Tracy Schumacher, The Oklahoman has learned. The attorney would not confirm she has been hired but did make a statement on Soderstrom's behalf.
It is not unusual for a judge or attorneys to text or email during a trial in today's modern society for court reasons, Schumacher said.
Soderstrom was elected in November, winning 56% of the vote. She was sworn in Jan. 9.
She became a lawyer in 2003 and is known for her experience in family law. She said at one candidate forum she has practiced in "just about everything you could imagine."
The sheriff said cameras have been in place in court for about five years, and the video is monitored by his office.
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"The purpose of them being there is to ensure safety in the courtroom," he said. "There's absolutely no sound on any of them. It's just view only. It just helps. Like, I might just walk through and look and say, 'Man, there's a 100 people in that courtroom. We need an additional uniformed guy over there.'"
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Judge recorded on Facebook, texting while presiding over trial for 2-year-old's death
