Judge Shirley Johnson of Goose Creek, SC; repeat offender

Shirley has been sitting as a judge on the Goose Creek municipal court for the past 30 years, and prior to that she was a member of the Goose Creek City Council. It should be noted that the City Council is the appointing authority for municipal court judges.

The South Carolina Judicial Commission found Shirley guilty of the following misconduct.

In one matter, Shirley called a magistrates office after her grandson was charged with driving with a suspended license.

Shirley identified herself as a judge during the call and attempted to “facilitate a plea,” for her grandson, who was already in jail on unrelated criminal charges.

In a lame attempt at levity, Shirley had the chutzpah to claim she wasn’t trying to get special treatment for her grandson when she identified herself as a judge. Shirley laughingly said she merely wanted to let “the magistrate’s office know that she knew the law.”

Shirley then sent the magistrate a letter written by her grandson wherein he tried to plead guilty to and that had a money order enclosed to pay her grandson’s fine.

As one would suspect, this wasn’t Shirley’s First bite at the Judicial Misfit Apple Tree. She previously received a complimentary reprimand after she personally presided over a bond hearing for her grandson.

As a consequence of her misconduct, the Patron Saints for Judicial Misfits sitting on the South Carolina Supreme Court punished Shirley by gifting her with a second complimentary reprimand.

As we speak (ca. October 2014), Shirley remains sitting as a Municipal Court Judge in Goose Creek, South Carolina.