A panel voted unanimously to notify the administrative law judge accused of turning the D.C. judicial system into an international joke that his job is on the line. Roy Pearson, the city judge who sued his dry cleaners for $54 million, has 15 days to respond to concerns outlined in the panel’s four-page letter sent out Tuesday.
The five-member commission raised concerns about Pearson’s professionalism in addition to the manner in which Pearson demanded millions of dollars over a single pair of pants, according to government sources who have seen the document.
The letter was the first step in removing Pearson, who was scheduled to be reappointed to a 10-year term. The commission can vote to dismiss the judge from his $100,000 job only after Pearson has had a chance to make his his case before the commission. Pearson could be the first judge fired by the commission.
The commission has been tight-lipped about the contents of the letter.
“We were thorough and we were thoughtful,” said D.C. Superior Court Judge Robert Rigsby, chairman of the commission. “We made our determination based upon the entire record.”
There had been some discussion on the panel whether the commission could consider the lawsuit because it happened outside the scope of Pearson’s job.
The commission also reviewed long, rambling letters that Pearson wrote criticizing his boss, D.C. Chief Administrative Judge Tyrone T. Butler. Butler had recommended Pearson for a 10-year term, though Pearson has been an outspoken critic of Butler.
But Butler told The Examiner he withdrew his support after Pearson sent a final vicious memo to the panel complaining about Butler.
“He made it personal, not me,” Butler said.
