By Ruben Castaneda
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 29, 2006; A01
A Prince George's County judge accused of misconduct submitted a letter yesterday saying he is retiring, a month before he was to face a public hearing for allegedly making disparaging comments to and about women seeking protective orders.
In one of those cases, that of a woman later badly burned by her estranged husband, District Court Judge Richard A. Palumbo's actions drew national attention. He also was accused of disparaging three women seeking protective orders by likening them to buses that come along every 10 minutes.
Palumbo, 67, cited health concerns as his reason for retiring in the letter, which was hand-delivered to Gov. Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (R). The judge will step down from the bench Friday.
"The decision to retire was made at the urging of my long-time personal physician and my family members -- all of whom are aware of the heavy toll the stress of the past year has had on my health," he wrote.
Palumbo's retirement almost certainly means he will not face the misconduct hearing scheduled for Aug. 28 and 29 before the state Commission on Judicial Disabilities. The hearing could have led to Palumbo being removed from the bench. A phone call to the commission yesterday afternoon was not returned.
In a 14-page reply to the commission charges filed in May, Palumbo denied any wrongdoing, attributing the allegations against him to misunderstandings.
It could not be determined late yesterday whether any disciplinary action that might have been taken against him could have affected his pension.
The commission charges filed against Palumbo in April alleged that he violated judicial standards in the case of Yvette Cade, which has received wide attention.
In September, Palumbo dismissed a protective order that he had temporarily issued against Cade's estranged husband, Roger B. Hargrave. Three weeks later, Hargrave walked into the Clinton store where Cade worked, doused her with gasoline and set her on fire. Cade, 32, suffered horrific burns on her face, head and torso but survived. Hargrave, 34, was convicted of attempted first-degree murder in April.
Palumbo has said a clerical error led to the dismissal of the protective order against Hargrave.
Cade, who has undergone 15 surgeries and faces many more, said yesterday that she is "very disappointed" that Palumbo probably will not have to answer the misconduct allegations in public.
"I think it's a shame that he can collect his retirement while I've been taken out of the workforce for many years to come, and I'm losing out on my pension to support me and my daughter," Cade said. "Him being off the bench is not enough. He should be at home with no pay until the hearing date, and he should not be able to collect his retirement."
Palumbo's attorney, William C. Brennan, said his client had no comment about his retirement.
According to Brennan, the judge has been hospitalized twice this year for treatment of a heart problem, and his medication has been significantly increased. Palumbo's doctor recommended that he retire to reduce stress, Brennan said.
A close friend of Palumbo's, retired Prince George's Circuit Court judge Vincent J. Femia, said that Palumbo was eager to defend himself against the misconduct charges but decided that his health took precedence.
"He's really down because his health let him down when he needed it the most," Femia said. "He feels like he really didn't have a choice."
Femia and Palumbo's other friends describe him as a bighearted, humorous man whose words and actions have been misunderstood.
Carole Alexander, executive director of House of Ruth in Maryland, which provides shelter and other services for battered women, agreed with Cade that Palumbo should have had to face the charges against him.
"I think it sends a terrible message to domestic violence victims, victims in general and the public at large," Alexander said. "For him to be able to resign and just wash his hands of this matter is just absurd."
When told that Palumbo was retiring, Duchy Trachtenberg, president of the Maryland chapter of the National Organization for Women, said, "Hallelujah!"
"I think it was the right decision for the community, given what went on the last year with Ms. Cade," Trachtenberg said. "There was certainly a pattern of bad judgment by Judge Palumbo."
The Oct. 10 attack on Cade put a spotlight on Palumbo, a former legislator who was appointed to the bench in 2001 by Gov. Parris N. Glendening (D). Other allegations of misconduct quickly surfaced.
A little more than two weeks after Cade was burned, Maryland's chief judge of the District Court temporarily removed Palumbo from the bench and reassigned him to administrative duties.
The chief judge took the action the same day The Washington Post reported that a Maryland State Police trooper was "counseled" after he deviated from official procedure by writing "Void" across a speeding ticket he had issued to Palumbo on Feb. 17, 2005. In a memo to his barracks commander, the trooper wrote that he was voiding the ticket he had given to "Judge Palumbo from Prince George's Court."
Days later, it was reported that Maryland state troopers found Palumbo responsible for a two-vehicle accident in Charles County but that they did not issue him a citation.
Palumbo's vehicle collided with a sport-utility vehicle driven by Kimberly A. Corlette. Corlette said in an interview that Palumbo did not want her to call police and that he told her she'd be in trouble because "I'm a judge."
Six weeks later, in mid-December, the House of Ruth filed a petition with the Commission on Judicial Disabilities alleging that Palumbo had exhibited clear bias against non-English-speaking women seeking protective orders, even prohibiting one woman from using an interpreter except with his explicit permission.
The commission alleged that Palumbo violated judicial standards in the Cade case and in several other instances in which women appeared before him to seek protective orders.
The commission's complaint marked the first official allegation that Palumbo had engaged in a broad pattern of misconduct when considering protective orders in domestic violence cases.
The commission alleged that Palumbo had violated judicial standards calling for lawyers to be courteous to and patient with jurors, attorneys, witnesses and litigants.
The commission's complaint also alleged that Palumbo violated judicial standards in the two traffic cases involving state troopers. Regarding the Charles County incident, Palumbo attempted to influence a trooper investigating the crash "by telling him that he knew the trooper's boss," the commission alleged.
The 11-member commission has the authority to recommend discipline ranging from a warning or a reprimand to removal from the bench. The commission's recommendations are considered by the Court of Appeals, the state's highest court, which ultimately decides what action, if any, to take against a judge.
Palumbo, who lives with his wife in Charles County but says his "legal domicile" is in Prince George's, served as a state delegate before his appointment to the bench. Femia said Palumbo will have plenty to do once he has left the judiciary.
Palumbo, who according to Femia owns a number of investment properties, is focused now on building a shopping center in the Glenn Dale area, Femia said.