Judge pleads guilty to vehicle tampering

LA PLATA, Md. (AP) — A Maryland judge apologized Wednesday for engaging in a bit of vigilante justice when he let the air out of the tire of a courthouse employee who parked in a restricted area.

"Your honor, I'm profoundly sorry for this conduct," Nalley, 66, told Anne Arundel County District Judge Robert C. Wilcox. "I'm ashamed of the conduct and embarrassed for the community and for my family."

Nalley's lawyer, William Brennan, said Nalley understands his actions could have been dangerous if Washington had driven off with a flat tire. A courthouse employee saw Nalley let the air out and alerted Washington. A police officer helped her inflate the tire.

Wilcox, the visiting judge, said Nalley's crime was similar to "90 percent of the cases in district court."

"They are grounded more on a foolish moment than any black heart or devious intent," he said.

It's still unclear what the incident will mean professionally for Nalley, who has been a judge since 1980. After the Aug. 10 incident, he stepped down as the court's chief administrative judge and has been suspended from hearing criminal cases, though he continues to preside over civil matters.

That suspension will continue until the state Commission on Judicial Disabilities decides whether Nalley should face sanctions, said William D. Missouri, the chief judge for Maryland's 7th Circuit, which includes Charles County.

Missouri said Nalley's infraction was serious even though it was a misdemeanor.

"If you look at it as a breach of public trust, it's a major crime because you have a judge admitting to doing something that one would have thought we'd outgrown in high school," he said.

Washington, who attended Wednesday's hearing but did not speak, has said she didn't realize she was not allowed to park on the side street by the courthouse in downtown La Plata, a distant suburb of Washington, D.C. She typically parked there when she arrived for her 3 p.m. shift at the courthouse — her second job — because she left the building after dark, said John Maloney, a deputy state's attorney from Montgomery County. Maloney handled the case because local prosecutors had a potential conflict of interest.

"She's a hardworking woman," Maloney said. "To her credit, she's a very forgiving woman."

A former Charles County commissioner said Nalley's "hair-trigger temper" likely got the better of him when he pulled up in his Honda Pilot next to Washington's Toyota Corolla.

"He's a good person and he's a good judge," said Loretta Nimmerrichter. "He's been punished enough just by the embarrassment."

The last time Nalley made the news for an action he made off the bench was when Charles County employees were asked to empty their own waste baskets because of a shortage of janitors amid a hiring freeze. Nalley refused to participate and told his staff not to help out either.

Washington and Nalley declined to comment after the court hearing.