Oklahoma Judge Accused Of Sending Over 500 Texts Mocking Participants During Murder Trial 

An Oklahoma judge stepped down from the bench Feb. 9 after she allegedly sent over 500 texts during a June murder trial she presided over, CNN reports.

Lincoln County District Judge Traci Soderstrom agreed to resign as part of a settlement with the state after being accused of inappropriate conduct on the bench and was petitioned to be removed from office.

During the trial, Soderstrom allegedly exchanged over 500 texts with her bailiff in which she mocked trial participants and used offensive language to talk about the state’s attorneys while presiding over the case. 

The petition filed in October 2023 listed text messages where Soderstrom made fun of attorneys, jurors, and witnesses.

The investigation by the Council on Judicial Complaints also found that Soderstrom and the courtroom bailiff mocked a prosecutor’s appearances. In one of their exchanges, the petition cited the judge saying that the district attorney was “sweating through his coat.” In another text message, Soderstrom asked, “Why does he have baby hands?…/they are so weird looking.” 

Soderstrom took a strong liking to the defense attorney, texting her bailiff, “She’s awesome,” before later asking, according to the filing, “Can I clap for her?” the filing said. She also showed strong admiration for a police officer who took the stand, stating he was “pretty””before adding, “I could look at him all day.””

Soderstrom also speculated if a juror wearing a wig. During the trial, she offered her opinion of the outcome, alleging writing there would be “no way they get guilty on murder” due to a lack of DNA evidence against the defendant.

Soderstrom was elected in November 2022 and served on the bench for only six months before the murder trial. Her lengthy list of accusations includes gross neglect of duty, gross partiality in office, and oppression in office, according to the filing.

As part of a press conference, Soderstrom took some accountability for her actions. “There were some things that I did inappropriately,” Soderstrom said, according to ABC News. “I texted during a trial. It doesn’t matter whether it was a traffic case or whether it was a divorce case or whether it was a first-degree murder case. I texted during the trial and that was inappropriate.”

However, things changed some as she defended how her texts were characterized and disputed any bias on her. 

“The content and the insinuation and the volume and the length of those things I am not agreeing to it because it doesn’t matter,” she added. “And it didn’t make up my mind. Even if I had, it wouldn’t have mattered because I was not the fact-finder.” 

Outside Soderstrom’s fate, the defendant on trial was eventually found guilty of second-degree manslaughter by the jury.