Principals testify at judge’s hearing

Kim Smith

Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2002 | 9:55 a.m.

Two former school principals of the son of District Judge Donald Mosley testified Monday they weren't influenced by letters the judge sent them on his official stationery.

Monday was the first day of Mosley's ethics hearing before the Nevada Commission on Judicial Discipline. The judge of 19 years, who is up for re-election in November, is accused of violating 10 judicial canons of ethics as the result of three incidents dating back to 1997.

An 11th charge was dismissed before the hearing began. If the commission finds Mosley violated any of the canons, he could be removed from the bench.

Mosley's attorneys, Dominic Gentile and Thomas Pitaro, allege all of the charges stem from a bitter custody dispute between Mosley and the mother of his 10-year-old child, Terry Figliuzzi, whose legal name is now Terry Mosley.

Special prosecutor Mary Boetsch told commission members that the Nevada Code of Judicial Conduct prohibits judges from using their official stationery for personal reasons.

Mosley, however, used his stationery to write numerous letters to the boy's school discussing his son's custody status, Boetsch said.

Diane Reitz and Frank Cooper, both former principals at Howard Wasden Elementary School, testified they knew Mosley was a judge before they received the letters and they weren't influenced by the stationery.

They also testified they asked for Mosley to write them a letter after experiencing problems with Terry Mosley.

Reitz said on one occasion she had school police remove Terry Mosley from the school and threatened her with arrest if she returned. She asked Donald Mosley for a letter and copy of a judge's order that granted him full custody of his son, Michael.

Cooper said he asked for an update from Mosley more than a year later after he replaced Reitz.

"Donald Mosley is a parent. I didn't treat him differently," Cooper said. "It wouldn't have mattered if the information had come on a napkin."

Mosley is also accused of releasing a defendant from jail on his own recognizance without input from the district attorney's office and despite the fact the defendant was to be sentenced by District Judge John McGroarty.

Boetsch alleges Mosley did so as a favor to a longtime friend, Barbara Orcutt.

Pitaro said Clark County judges routinely adjust bail outside of a formal court setting at the request of defense attorneys, prosecutors and private citizens, and Mosley discussed the release with McGroarty.

"Judge McGroarty said 'If you want to let him out, it's OK by me. It's your call. It's your decision.' How is that a willful and deliberate violation?" Pitaro said.

The final set of charges Mosley faces stem from a defendant, Joseph McLaughlin, testifying on his behalf during a custody hearing.

McLaughlin, a former roommate of Terry Mosley, testified negatively about her parenting skills.

Boetsch alleges Mosley violated numerous canons because he spoke with McLaughlin and his attorney numerous times without a prosecutor being present and didn't recuse himself from McLaughlin's case until after McLaughlin testified.

Pitaro noted that McLaughlin's attorney, Deputy Public Defender Catherine Woolf, agreed to allow McLaughlin to testify in the custody case because she knew Mosley would recuse himself and she wanted a more lenient judge to sentence McLaughlin.