IN THE MATTER OF THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS' FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE HONORABLE TONY S. LOPEZ, MUNICIPAL JUDGE, SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT, ALBANY COUNTY, LARAMIE, WYOMING

IN THE MATTER OF THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS' FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE HONORABLE TONY S. LOPEZ, MUNICIPAL JUDGE, SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT, ALBANY COUNTY, LARAMIE, WYOMING
2012 WY 44
Case Number: J-12-0001
Decided: 03/23/2012
This opinion is subject to formal revision before publication in Pacific Reporter Third. Readers are requested to notify the Clerk of the Supreme Court, Supreme Court Building, Cheyenne, Wyoming 82002, of any typographical or other formal errors so that correction may be made before final publication in the permanent volume.

October Term, A.D. 2011

IN THE MATTER OF THE COMMISSION ON JUDICIAL CONDUCT AND ETHICS' FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE HONORABLE TONY S. LOPEZ, MUNICIPAL JUDGE, SECOND JUDICIAL DISTRICT, ALBANY COUNTY, LARAMIE, WYOMING

[¶1] This matter came before the Court upon the “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation,” filed herein March 2, 2012, by the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics of the State of Wyoming, pursuant to Rule 26 of the Rules Governing the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics. In its Recommendation, the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics recommends that the Honorable Tony S. Lopez, Laramie Municipal Court Judge, be publicly censured for his conduct. Attached to the Commission’s Findings and Recommendation is an Affidavit of Consent, wherein Judge Lopez “agree[s] to accept the final decision by the Wyoming Supreme Court.” Now, after a careful review of the “Commission’s Findings and Recommendations,” the materials attached thereto, and the file, finds that the “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation” should be approved, confirmed and adopted by the Court; and that the Honorable Tony S. Lopez, Laramie Municipal Court Judge, should be publicly censured for the conduct described in the “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation.” It is, therefore,

[¶2] ADJUDGED AND ORDERED that the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics’ “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation,” a copy of which is attached hereto and incorporated herein (without attachments), shall be, and the same hereby is, approved, confirmed, and adopted by this Court; and it is further

[¶3] ADJUDGED AND ORDERED that the Honorable Tony S. Lopez, Laramie Municipal Court Judge, shall receive a public censure for his conduct detailed in the “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation;” and it is further

[¶4] ORDERED that the Honorable Tony S. Lopez, Laramie Municipal Court Judge, is hereby assessed Disciplinary Counsel’s costs and fees in the amount of $1,400.00, payable in equal monthly installments to the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics, with final payment to be made on or before March 1, 2013; and it is further

[¶5] ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court shall docket this Order of Public Censure, along with the incorporated “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation,” as a matter coming regularly before this Court as a public record; and it is further

[¶6] ORDERED that this Order of Public Censure, along with the incorporated “Commission’s Findings and Recommendation,” shall be published in the Wyoming Reporter and the Pacific Reporter; and it is further

[¶7] ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court cause a copy of the Order of Public Censure to be served upon the Honorable Tony S. Lopez, Laramie Municipal Court Judge; and it is further

[¶8] ORDERED that the Clerk of this Court transmit a copy of this Order of Public Censure to members of the Commission on Judicial Conduct and Ethics of the State of Wyoming.

[¶9] DATED this 23rd day of March, 2012.

BY THE COURT:

/s/ MARILYN S. KITE

Chief Justice