Prince George’s judge’s alleged harassment of colleague detailed at hearing

ELLICOTT CITY — The hearing before the Commission on Judicial Disabilities for an embattled Prince George’s County circuit judge began Monday, with investigative counsel portraying the judge’s alleged harassment of a judicial colleague and improperly sharing confidential materials from the investigation into her conduct.

UPDATE: MD Supreme Court removes Prince George’s judge from bench, cites ‘egregious’ misconduct

In opening statements, investigative counsel argued that the judge, April T. Ademiluyi, committed sanctionable conduct and “relentlessly harassed” Judge Michael R. Pearson, a fellow Prince George’s County circuit judge, by sending him repeated and unwanted text messages and emails.

But counsel for Ademiluyi, Ray Shepard, who said in court that he began representing Ademiluyi one week ago, said his client appreciated Pearson’s guidance and mentorship during her judicial training and should not be sanctioned “for trying to have a mentor-mentee relationship” with Pearson.

The Commission on Judicial Disabilities has already recommended discipline against Ademiluyi stemming from another set of charges, that she repeatedly refused training, showed bias toward criminal defendants and antagonized staff and colleagues.

On Monday, investigative counsel, led by director and investigative counsel Tanya Bernstein, introduced Pearson as a witness who testified that text messages between himself and Ademiluyi “started to go into a personal nature” beginning in April 2021.

Pearson testified that he was aware of Ademiluyi’s election campaign that described Prince George’s County judges as corrupt, insensitive to the plight of victims and that “she was coming to clean house,” which prompted him to attempt to limit their communications and ensure their conversations were either recorded or that others were present.

After Ademiluyi arrived approximately 30 minutes late to a remote hearing in October 2021, Pearson sent her an email to address her tardiness, according to the commission’s charging documents. Nearly one year later, in September 2022, Ademiluyi texted Pearson’s personal cellphone about the email.

Pearson testified that he thought her text message was strange and “out of the blue,” noting he was baffled and did not respond. However, Pearson testified that Ademiluyi sent further texts and emails that grew more personal in nature.

In one text, according to the statement of charges, Ademiluyi allegedly wrote that there was “only one way for us to let go of all this kind of tension. Not that quickly though but we will eventually get there. You can call me anytime. I’m always up late. Let’s have fun? Do you want to hang out?”

Pearson testified that he “was fed up” by this and texted Ademiluyi to request she not contact him on his cellphone, stating that he had no interest in a personal relationship. Pearson said he purposely tried to stay as far away from Ademiluyi during a judges’ retreat the next day in December 2022.

Pearson further explained that he did not know where Ademiluyi’s actions were coming from, noting “her texts did not fit the context of what was going on in the real world.”

After another set of emails by Ademiluyi, in early January 2023, Pearson said, Ademiluyi asked him to help her because someone “is out to intimidate her and destroy her” and that she was emotionally exhausted.

Pearson testified that this was bizarre, and he was concerned about her mental fitness for the bench.

After a judicial conference in April 2023, Pearson testified that Ademiluyi emailed him and sent him confidential documents from investigative counsel notifying her that she was under investigation. Pearson said he did not make that inquiry and again asked she refrain from contacting him in any personal capacity.

Pearson testified that he interpreted this email with the attachment as Ademiluyi trying “to influence him in some way.”

Judge Daneeka Varner Cotton, who became administrative judge for Prince George’s County Circuit Court in January 2023, testified on Monday that she became aware of Ademiluyi’s conversations with Pearson in October or November 2022 and was confused as to why Ademiluyi continued to contact Pearson.

Cotton said Ademiluyi escalated the conversation with Pearson and requested that Cotton talk to Pearson on her behalf to determine why Pearson did not want to talk with her. Cotton testified that she relayed Ademiluyi’s message to Pearson that she wanted to have a “cordial relationship.”

Cotton further testified that she is concerned about Ademiluyi’s mental stability, noting her behavior as “erratic” and that she “lashed out” at Cotton and others by filing a federal lawsuit against three colleagues.

The hearing before the commission will resume Thursday at 9:30 a.m. at the Howard County Circuit Court.