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Case Summary for Complaint # 4453


Name: James J. Helbling

Title: Judge

Court: Bonney Lake Municipal Court

County: Pierce

Discipline: Reprimand

Method of Resolution: Stipulation

Discipline Date: 12/01/2006

Canons Violated:1, 2(A), 3(A)(1)

Summary: From an agreed statement of facts, the Commission determined that Bonney Lake Municipal Court Judge James Helbling violated Canons 1, 2(A), and 3(A)(1) of the Code of Judicial Conduct by routinely failing to advise unrepresented criminal defendants appearing before him of their basic due process and constitutional rights and also by routinely failing to determine whether individual defendants understood their constitutional rights at arraignment prior to entering a plea or prior to probation violation hearings. He was reprimanded by the Commission and required to promptly read and familiarize himself with the Code of Judicial Conduct, the Criminal Rules for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction and the Criminal Procedure Benchbook for Courts of Limited Jurisdiction in their entirety. He was also required to complete a course on judicial ethics with an emphasis on criminal procedure at his expense, and provide proof of completion of the course within one year of the date the stipulation was entered.

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