Possible Ethics Violation May Be Behind Judge Recusing Herself from Trial

By Adrianna Iwasinski, NEWS 9

OKLAHOMA CITY -- Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure recused herself from pharmacist Jerome Ersland's murder trial after the district attorney asked her to do so. The reason has been kept under seal but there's some new information that explains what lead up to this point.

The official word from the D.A.'s Office is that the law precludes them from being able to discuss the matter. But an Oklahoma City area attorney confirms he notified District Attorney David Prater about a possible ethics violation after his client told him about a personal conversation he had with Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure about a case she was set to hear.

Attorney Rick Rice is representing 20-year-old Colton Taz Ama on drug charges. Ama was a personal trainer at the same health club Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure had just joined and where they reportedly had discussions about his case.

While Rice refused to comment on his client's case, he did confirm that he felt he had to report the situation to someone and felt the District Attorney was the right avenue to take. He also confirms that the D.A. asked if his client would wear a wire during his next encounter with Judge Bass-LeSure and that his client agreed.

Published reports say Bass-LeSure also wrote the names of three attorneys she recommended he use for his case, one of which was an attorney on the Ersland defense team.

Under statute, judges are not supposed to offer legal advice to anyone with a case pending before them without attorneys present.

According the Judicial Code of Conduct, a judge should avoid impropriety and the appearance of impropriety in all of the judge's activities. It goes on to say a judge should respect and comply with the law and act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary.

"A judge should not sit on a case in which the judge has personal knowledge of the facts in dispute. A judge should not speak to parties or lawyers for parties about the substance of the case without the merits of the case, without the other party and the other party's lawyer being present," said Lawrence Hellman, an ethics expert and dean at Oklahoma City University's Sarkey's School of Law.

But Hellman said the standards a judge is supposed to be guided by are not precise.

"The standard is the judge should step down in a case whenever a judge's impartiality may reasonably be questioned, now reasonableness is a subjective term," Hellman said.

Now a complaint can be filed with the Oklahoma Council of Judicial Complaints, which is appointed by the Oklahoma Supreme Court. The council will then decide if a violation has occurred and what if any disciplinary actions need to be taken. But those complaints are kept confidential unless the council chooses to make them public through a public reprimand.

This week, Judge Tammy Bass-LeSure also recused herself from the Ama drug case and it has been assigned to another district Judge. She is currently not commenting on the allegations.