A Missouri decide who wore an Elvis Presley wig in his courtroom and performed the singer’s music from his cellphone throughout court docket proceedings has agreed to a deal that will lower his profession on the bench brief.
Decide Matthew Thornhill in suburban St. Louis faces a six-month unpaid suspension below the deal he reached with a state board to keep away from a disciplinary listening to. After the suspension, he would serve 18 extra months on the bench earlier than resigning from the St. Charles County Circuit Courtroom.
The settlement, reached final month, is pending earlier than the Missouri Supreme Courtroom, spokeswoman Beth Riggert mentioned Friday. The court docket agreed Thursday to simply accept 35 letters in help of Thornhill’s character.
Thornhill wrote that he meant “to add levity at times when I thought it would help relax litigants.” However he added: “I now recognize that this could affect the integrity and solemnity of the proceedings.”
On-line court docket information don’t point out who filed the grievance that triggered the self-discipline. His legal professional, Neil Bruntrager, didn’t instantly return a cellphone message from The Related Press on Friday.
Whereas the Fee on Retirement, Elimination and Self-discipline additionally faulted Thornhill for speaking about politics from the bench, it highlighted his affinity for the “ King of Rock ‘n’ Roll ” first. The court docket file is sprinkled with images of Thornhill on the bench or posing with employees in a plastic Elvis wig and sun shades.
In line with the fee, Thornhill routinely wore the wig within the courtroom round Halloween and would supply folks choices on how they needed to be sworn in earlier than testifying, together with an choice the place he performed Elvis’ music from his cellphone. Thornhill additionally generally performed the songs whereas getting into the courtroom, court docket information present.
The board additionally mentioned Thornhill generally talked about Elvis lyrics or the singer’s date of start or dying throughout court docket, though it wasn’t related.
All of the Elvis references violated guidelines requiring a decide to take care of “order and decorum” and “promote confidence in the integrity of the judiciary,” the fee discovered, with out saying how lengthy the habits had been occurring.
Thornhill is the longest-serving decide in St. Charles County and a former assistant prosecutor there, in line with a biography posted on the court docket web site. He was elected an affiliate circuit decide in 2006 and a circuit decide in 2024. His main task is household court docket.
In 2008, he was reprimand and fined $750. The St. Louis Put up-Dispatch reported that the tremendous stemmed from him lowering the costs in opposition to a lady he was prosecuting after she provided to offer him a baseball signed by Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Terry Bradshaw. Thornhill denied taking the baseball, which was a pretend.
Within the newest case, Thornhill was additionally cited for mentioning his political affiliation and most popular election candidates throughout court docket enterprise. At instances, he commented on the place his “Thornhill for Judge” marketing campaign indicators have been posted or remarked that litigants or attorneys lived in “Thornhill for Judge Country,” court docket paperwork mentioned.
As soon as he requested somebody showing in court docket if the labor union the individual labored for had “warmed up to Thornhill for judge,” court docket information present.
Thornhill wrote that, though the references to marketing campaign indicators have been made in casual conversations, they have been nonetheless a mistake. “Never did they impact a decision,” he wrote.
He was additionally criticized for providing a personality letter in an adoption case, which the fee deemed an abuse of his place. Thornhill agreed it was “a mistake and improper.”
