Unfortunately, being attached to a smartphone is pretty commonplace these days. You cannot sit through a movie, a theater performance, or even get your nails done without having to hear a one-sided conversation or see a bright, distracting screen. Professionals, such as judges, should know better than to be on the phone during working hours, but in one Oklahoma courtroom, it appears that was not the case.
Oklahoma District 23 Judge Traci Soderstrom stands accused of being on social media, texting, and more during a murder trial for a toddler. At one point, the mother of the child was crying on the stand while Soderstrom answered a text. The whole thing was caught on video and is being reviewed by Oklahoma's Council on Judicial Complaints.
The 50-minute video was reported on by The Oklahoman. On the video, you can see Soderstrom scrolling through social media, texting, and even searching for the perfect gif. She does also occasionally write down notes about the trial, but should never have been multitasking like that.
The ironic part of it is, the judge did not allow the jury to act like she did. She asked them to turn off their phones so they could focus on the case. Something she clearly did not model.
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The incident took place at Lincoln County Courthouse in Chandler, Oklahoma. Cameras were in the court for security purposes according to Sgt. Aaron Bennett of the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office. The sheriff's office passed the video onto the Council on Judicial Complaints, but did not provide it to the newspaper.
Judge Soderstrom was elected to her position in November 2022. She was sworn in on January 9 for a term of four years. Her court’s jurisdiction includes both Lincoln and Pottawatomie counties.
The council declined to comment on the investigation because it is still ongoing. It is unknown at this time if Judge Soderstrom knew about the cameras.
The lawyers arguing the case in front of Judge Soderstrom were not aware in the moment of her alleged excessive phone usage. District Attorney Adam Panter and defense attorney Velia Lopez did not see her on her phone. Lopez said Judge Soderstrom did a “great job.”
Panter watched the video for himself, seeing firsthand Judge Soderstrom’s actions. He was not pleased with what he saw. “Jurors are banned from using cellphones in the courtroom during trials because we expect them to give their full time and attention to the evidence being presented,” he stated. “I would expect and hope the court would hold itself to the same standard required of the jurors, regardless of the type of case.”
Soderstrom is bound by the Code of Judicial Conduct, which does not explicitly spell out rules for cellphone usage in the courtroom. But when overseeing a case like that of the 2018 death of 2-year-old Braxton Danker, a judge should probably be paying attention. The child’s cause of death was a cardiac arrest brought on by an infection from a diaper rash. It was then discovered he was also the victim of abuse.
Khristian Martzall and Judith Danker, the boy's parents, were charged with first-degree murder. Ultimately, Martzall received a second-degree manslaughter conviction and Danker pleaded guilty four years ago to enabling or permitting child abuse. When she was not on her phone, Judge Soderstrom oversaw the pretrial, jury selection, and opening statements in this case.
