A Lincoln County, Oklahoma judge was caught exchanging more than 500 text messages and browsing social media during a first-degree murder trial.
Court surveillance videos showed Traci Soderstrom spending extended periods of time on her cellphone during the trial of Khristian Tyler Martzall for the June 2023 murder of a 2-year-old child.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court investigation found that she exchanged more than 500 messages with her bailiff during the trial. In these exchanges, the two individuals made fun of the physical appearance of lawyers, jurors and witnesses and used offensive language to ridicule the state’s lawyers, according to ABC News, which cited a report by the chief justice. of the Oklahoma Supreme Court, Mr. John Kane IV.
These exchanges also demonstrated prejudice against the defense on the part of the former judge, who accused witnesses of lying, commented on the physique of a police officer whom she found cute and ridiculed the defense in general.
Traci Soderstrom was scheduled to appear in court to examine this serious misconduct next Monday, but she resigned Friday, partially admitting her wrongdoing.
