The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals announced Wednesday that U.S. District Judge Roger Benitez 'engaged in abusive or harassing behavior' that constitutes judicial misconduct when he ordered a U.S. marshal to handcuff a defendant's 13-year-old daughter during a hearing in his San Diego courtroom last year. Benitez said the incident, which brought the girl to tears, was meant to scare her away from using drugs.
Then he addressed the defendant's daughter in the gallery, asking for her name, and then asking her to approach and stand next to her father's attorney. 'Do me a favor,' Benitez told the marshal. 'Put cuffs on her.' At that point the girl started to cry, according to a filing by the defendant's attorney from Federal Defender's of San Diego, Mayra Lopez. Benitez then asked the marshal to escort the girl to the jury box.
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