D.C. Administrative Law Judge Roy Pearson, the jurist who brought international ridicule to the D.C. judicial system when he sued a dry cleaner over lost pants, remains employed by the District while a five-person panel waits to see what he has to say for himself.
Pearson’s term expired in April. Two months ago, after a series of delays, D.C.’s administrative law commission notified him that his job was in jeopardy.
But the panel has yet to hold the meeting that would give Pearson one last chance to argue his case for keeping his $100,000-a-year job for the next 10 years.
Since his term expired six months ago, Pearson has not worked as a judge, but as an attorney adviser for the Office of Hearings.
D.C. Council Member Phil Mendelson, head of the judiciary committee, said the commission should resolve the matter soon and move on.
“It does no one any good to drag this out and have someone on the payroll not performing his job,” the at-large Democrat said. “It’s in everyone’s interest to get this done.”
Pearson could be the first D.C. administrative law judge to be fired by the commission.
Panelists have been careful about how they treat his case, particularly because Pearson has shown he can be litigious, according to several government sources who asked to remain anonymous because the issue is a personnel matter.
Government officials won’t even reveal the date of Pearson’s hearing.
Pearson’s boss originally supported him for an appointment to a 10-year term, but he reversed his decision in the spring after Pearson’s multimillion-dollar lawsuit against the dry cleaner gained worldwide notoriety and the judge wrote a letter calling his boss “evil.”
Meanwhile, the family that Pearson sued has closed and sold the dry cleaner, citing the emotional stress from defending the lawsuit.
Pearson did not respond to repeated attempts to reach him for comment.
