Minnesota judge censured and suspended after misconduct investigation

The Minnesota Supreme Court has censured and suspended a judge for nearly a year for holding court proceedings from his car and other alleged misconduct that officials say “severely undermines the public’s trust in the judicial system.”

Anoka County Judge John P. Dehen will be censured and suspended for nine months without pay effective Sept. 29, the Minnesota Supreme Court ordered Tuesday. If he stops being a judge within those nine months, Dehen cannot practice law for the remainder of the suspension.

The Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards filed a complaint about Dehen last April. The complaint alleged Dehen violated the code of judicial conduct by presiding over a court proceeding from the passenger seat of a moving vehicle. Dehen told attorneys he decided to hold court despite being on vacation that day, but he later admitted he was attending a swim meet where his family was competing.

“Indeed, three of the attorneys who made appearances before Judge Dehen that day provided testimony to the panel that they were ‘shocked’ by his actions,” the order read.

The attorneys said they found Dehen’s actions “highly unusual and distressing” as well as “inappropriate.”

The complaint also alleged that Dehen ordered a court administrator twice to increase his court reporter’s pay, and showed bias against non-citizen juveniles seeking special immigration status.

Dehen denied much of the misconduct and defended his actions in front of a three-member panel appointed to investigate the complaint. He argued the board failed to prove the allegations with clear and convincing evidence, but he did not dispute holding court from a vehicle. He said it was a bad idea that made court attendees feel the proceedings were unprofessional, but Dehen added that his actions were “not ethical misconduct.”

The Minnesota board found no clear evidence that his bias influenced his decisions against non-citizen juveniles but agreed that he broke policy in other areas. The board added that Dehen’s order to increase his court reporter’s pay was “particularly egregious,” warranting a nine-month suspension instead of six.

“His actions wasted precious judicial resources and disrespected the rule of law and the administration of justice that he took an oath to uphold‚" the Supreme Court order read.

According to the order, “Judge Dehen has exhibited little if any remorse for his flagrant and egregious actions involving the court reporter dispute, and thus we must fulfill our obligation to ensure that the misconduct is not repeated again, and to deter others from similar behavior.”

Attorney Dan Rasmus, who represented Dehen in the case, could not be reached for comment.

It’s not the first accusation of misconduct against Dehen. The Minnesota Board on Judicial Standards said it disciplined Dehen when he was a lawyer in 2006, ordering him to pay $900 for failing to label solicitations as advertising and for conduct “prejudicial to the administration of justice.” The board also privately scolded Dehen in 2022 for improper behavior as a plaintiff in a conciliation case and for abusing the prestige of his office.