No judge can be effective while under a shadow of criminality. The allegations against Superior Court Judge Michael Hecht must be resolved decisively, one way or the other.
Two prostitutes claim that Hecht has solicited sex from them, and one claims the judge threatened to kill him. Several business owners in Tacoma’s Antique Row say Hecht has frequented the area, which is notorious for male prostitution. One merchant says he has seen Hecht pick up young men there.
Those are the accusations. They must be weighed against the credibility of the two primary witnesses, both of whom have criminal records. They must also be weighed against the motives of the private investigator who first brought them to light: Morgan Armijo, the son of former Judge Sergio Armijo, whom Hecht unseated last August.
Clearly there’s the possibility of bad blood here.
That doesn’t automatically discredit the allegations. Police informants and prosecution witnesses often bear grudges against the people they accuse – that’s what prompts them to come forward. And prosecutors sometimes win convictions with the testimony of criminals.
This particular case cannot be dismissed out of hand for the simple reason that the system has not yet dismissed it. Morgan Armijo first presented his evidence to Pierce County prosecutors, who sent it to the Tacoma Police Department. The police have since referred the completed investigation to county prosecutors, who have now handed it off to the state Attorney General’s office.
That hardly demonstrates Hecht’s guilt. He appears to have no criminal record whatever, in stark contrast to his chief accusers. As for his visits to Antique Row, he is a connoisseur of antiques and once worked in an antique dealership.
What this all adds up to is uncertainty. The uncertainty must be resolved. A judge cannot be shadowed indefinitely by serious and potentially credible criminal accusations. Those accusations are already having legal repercussions; Pierce County Prosecutor Gerry Horne says his office will not try any criminal cases in Hecht’s courtroom.
The Attorney General’s office should do its utmost to expose the allegations as baseless or else bring charges against Hecht. A murky resolution would be no resolution at all.
Hecht, fairly or unfairly, faces a burden of his own.
The criminal justice system acquits a defendant unless the prosecution proves guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. That rigorous standard means acquittal is not necessarily the same thing as innocence.
However he fares in the justice system, Hecht also faces the court of public opinion. That court will demand a persuasive refutation of the accusations.
In a job whose essence is the administration of justice, “never convicted” is not the ethical standard.
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