"Oklahoma Judge Resigns Amid Texting Scandal During Murder Trial"

Traci Soderstrom, a district judge in Oklahoma, resigned after exchanging 500 text messages with her bailiff during a murder trial, admitting that the messages sent while she was on the bench were "inappropriate." The judge and the bailiff were found to have displayed gross partiality and bias during the trial, which involved the case of a man charged with first-degree murder in the fatal beating of his girlfriend’s 2-year-old son. Soderstrom's cellphone use during the trial came to public attention after courtroom security footage was published, and she has agreed to a temporary suspension and is ineligible for a future judicial position in Oklahoma.