Baltimore Circuit Judge Alfred Nance, reprimanded three years ago for inappropriate conduct, has been accused again by a state judicial disciplinary panel and faces a rare public hearing next month in connection with the charges.
According to documents reviewed yesterday by The Sun, Nance is alleged to have made an "unwelcome" gesture to a city prosecutor by massaging her shoulder and is also charged with criticizing the way a prospective juror was wearing his yarmulke in court last year.
The judge has been the subject of several complaints in the past, and in 2001 received a stinging public reprimand from the state's Commission on Judicial Disabilities, which found that he acted in "undignified" and "demeaning" ways toward women in his court and private chambers.
According to the most recent charges, made public yesterday, in June 2003 Nance chastised from the bench the man wearing a yarmulke, the traditional Jewish headcovering for men.
"Now, I've seen yarmulkes worn in many different ways, but not that one," Nance said, according to the document. "Now, if you want to wear a yarmulke in my courtroom, out of respect for your religion, you will wear it respectfully or take it off in my courtroom."
The commission found "probable cause to believe that the Judge has committed sanctionable conduct" in both cases, according to the documents.
Neither the judge nor his lawyer, Alvin I. Frederick, returned calls seeking comment yesterday.
However, Nance denied wrongdoing in written filings to the panel.
"The judge disputes the facts with respect to the alleged incidents in question and further believes that no sanctionable conduct occurred," Frederick wrote in one response.
Nance, 56, a former public defender who later founded a law firm, was appointed to the city Circuit Court by former Gov. Parris N. Glendening in 1997.
The next year, Nance won election to a 15-year term.
Possible options
If the 11-member disciplinary panel finds Nance guilty of misconduct, he can be publicly reprimanded again, or the panel can refer the case to the Court of Appeals.
The state's highest court can impose a sanction ranging from a private warning to removal from office.
Nance is charged with violating four of the six canons of Maryland's code of judicial conduct, including integrity, avoidance of impropriety, and being patient, dignified and courteous, according to the code.
