Former Northampton County Magisterial District Judge David W. Tidd (FILE PHOTO)
The former magisterial district judge for Hellertown and Lower Saucon Township last week told the Pennsylvania Court of Judicial Discipline during his ongoing trial for alleged judicial misconduct that he is embarrassed by the unprofessional manner in which he treated his staff, and that he also considered taking his own life when he learned of the charges against him in July 2016, Lehigh Valley Live reported Friday.
According to the report, David Tidd did not admit misconduct, but said he lined up prescription pill bottles and a bottle of alcohol before he stopped what he was doing and called a doctor for help, which led to mental health treatment at Lehigh Valley Hospital-Muhlenberg and his subsequent resignation just months after he was elected to another six-year term.
Tidd’s trial began in Harrisburg in January and continued this wvteek with further testimony in Philadelphia.
Another hiatus in the trial is anticipated before it concludes and a judgment is rendered sometime later this year.
Among other things, Tidd is accused in a 96-page, August 2016 Judicial Review Board complaint of:
- Chastised staff for scheduling court cases on Election Day, because he wanted to campaign
- Threw pens and screamed expletives at staff when they didn’t work
- Slept on the floor of his office in his judicial robes, and used his robes as a pillow
- Called his Lower Saucon courtroom “nothing but a traffic court” and used that as a rationale to forego holding hearings and instead to conduct business from the reception area counter
- Angrily confronted staff about his ongoing misconduct investigation and demanded to know whether they had cooperated with it or not
- Acquired a reputation as a ‘drive-thru judge’ in a ‘fast food court’ for the brevity and informality of his hearings
Tidd is still a practicing attorney, but has relocated his residence and practice to Fleetwood, Berks County.
If he is found guilty of misconduct, he could be fined and/or barred from ever serving as a judge again.
