Soderstrom Law/X (Traci Soderstrom) Judge Traci Soderstrom.
Traci Soderstrom is a former Oklahoma judge who resigned in February 2024 after accusations emerged that she sent 500 texts disparaging prosecutors and jurors during a murder trial.
Her prolific phone use was captured in a video aired by local news sites. You can watch it later in this article.
On February 8, a settlement stipulation was filed with the Judiciary of the State of Oklahoma.
The settlement says Soderstrom was accused of “certain conduct prohibited by the Oklahoma Constitution.” The order says that Soderstrom and the state had agreed to resolve the matter without a trial. It says that Soderstrom “voluntarily decided to resign as District Judge for the 23rd Judicial District of Oklahoma” and would do so by 5 p.m. on February 9.
Soderstrom agreed to “not again seek any judicial position in the State of Oklahoma” and gave up her right of appeal and, in addition, the state would dismiss the action, the settlement says.
“I promised to ensure the law and procedures were applied equally to Plaintiff and Defendant alike,” Soderstrom said in a resignation statement released by her attorney to CNN. “In spite of resistance at nearly every turn, I believe that I have done so. However, being human, I have also faltered.”
Here’s what you need to know:
1. Traci Soderstrom, Who Was Elected to the Seat in November 2022, Was Accused of Exchanging Over 500 Text Messages Mocking the Physical Appearance of Attorneys, Jurors & Witnesses, the Petition Says
Lincoln Co CourtTraci Soderstrom.
According to the petition filed by the state against Soderstrom in October 2023, she was a district judge in Lincoln County, Oklahoma, who was elected to the seat in November 2022 and took the bench on January 9, 2023.
An X post in her name said she worked for Soderstrom law firm before becoming a judge. “Our firm strives to provide compassionate representation during the difficult times in life. Let us help you through the trying times in your life,” it reads. Her posts are protected.
She was accused of gross neglect of duty, gross partiality in office, oppression in office, and “other grounds specified by the Legislature.” The state sought to remove her from the bench in the petition.
Among the accusations: While presiding over a murder trial on June 7, 2023, Soderstrom “exchanged over 500 text messages with her bailiff Angela Miller in which they mocked the physical appearance of attorneys, jurors, and witnesses and used offensive language to deride the state’s attorneys.”
They “called murder trial witnesses liars, admired the looks of a police officer who was testifying, disparaged local defense bar, expressed bias in favor of the defendant and displayed gross partiality against the state,” it says.
Soderstrom and her bailiff “texted back and forth with each other continuously during the active portion of the murder trial. Respondent placed her personal cell phone toward the front of her lap outside the view of others in the courtroom,” the petition says.
Soderstrom “was scrolling Facebook, accessing various phone applications, and texting for extended periods of time during the murder trial,” the petition says.
On one occasion, the judge and bailiff “discussed by text which jury instructions would best fit their desired outcome,” it says.
After publicity about the judge’s “excessive phone use during trial,” she had the security camera moved “where she could not be observed,” it says.
2. The Petition Accuses Judge Traci Soderstrom of Using Emojis to Mock the Prosecutor’s Presentation in Court
X (Traci Soderstrom)Traci Soderstrom X post.
The petition alleged that in May 2018, Khristian Martzall and Judith Danker were accused of committing murder for the death of their child. Danker entered a plea to an amended charge of enabling child abuse and received 25 years in prison. Martzall was held in jail without bond until his trial.
The petition says:
While the district attorney was addressing jurors during jury selection, Soderstrom wrote her bailiff that he was “sweating thru his coat,” to which the bailiff responded, “Yes. It’s gross. He’s gross and a horrible speaker.”
Regarding the assistant DA, Soderstrom wrote that “they are going to hate him,” referring to the jury, and the bailiff responded, “Absolutely. He’s an arrogant a******,” the petition says.
The bailiff “then made a crass and demeaning reference to the prosecuting attorneys’ genitals to which the judge replied with a ‘ha ha’ icon,” the petition says. The DA made a reference to a BLT sandwich, and the bailiff remarked that the defense attorney “threw his BLT analogy back at him.” The judge replied, “Trash,” with emojis referencing trash and a BLT, according to the petition.
The petition further alleges:
At another point, the judge referenced the DA’s appearance and stated, “Why does he have baby hands? They are so weird looking.” The bailiff replied, “I was told they were tiny lol.”
As for the defense attorney, the judge wrote, “She’s awesome” and the bailiff responded, “Yep” and “She’s so smart.”
During the opening argument by the defense attorney, the judge wrote, “Can I clap for her?”
As for the DA’s office, she wrote, “They are not used to going up against competent attorneys.”
The bailiff texted “he’s horrible” when the DA began questioning witnesses, to which the judge replied, “True” and the bailiff replied, “Suckssss,” the petition says.
3. At Another Point, Traci Soderstom Called a Police Officer ‘Pretty’ & Discussed Whether a Juror Was Wearing a Wig, the Petition Says
“This s*** is boring,” Soderstrom wrote while a video was played to a witness on the stand, the petition says.
The bailiff mistakenly thought it was a video the state had lost. Soderstrom texted, “They didn’t lose this one but they should have.” When the bailiff replied, “It doesn’t help the state at all,” Soderstrom wrote, “Nope.”
Soderstrom wrote, according to the petition,“State just couldn’t accept that a mom could kill their kid so they went after the next person available.”
She also wrote, “This is dumb” during the state’s direct examination of a witness. The bailiff replied, “I just hope the jury doesn’t buy his s***.”
The petition alleges:
Soderstrom commented, “he looks constipated” and “Is that the oh s*** look?” the petition says.
The judge and bailiff referred to the co-defendant as a liar at least three times, it says.
“Can I please scream liar liar?” she texted.
When a police officer took the stand, Soderstrom texted, “He’s pretty. I could look at him all day,” it adds.
They also discussed whether a juror was wearing a wig and wondered whether another witness had teeth, it says.
She told the bailiff, “DNA excluded Marzall on the bed, no way they get guilty on murder,” the petition says.
4. A Video Later Emerged That Showed the Judge’s ‘Excessive Amount of Time on Her Phone’
After the trial, a sheriff’s deputy advised the DA’s office that the judge was seen using her phone throughout the trial.
The DA concluded that the judge had “frequently sustained objections for facts not in evidence during his closing argument because the judge” was not “paying attention,” the petition says.
It was signed by M. John Kane IV, chief justice of the Supreme Court of Oklahoma.
According to the petition, in October, a 51-minute video snippet of the trial was later publicized showing the judge’s “excessive amount of time on her phone.”
She tried to mislead the investigators by saying the texting was “when a witness would come on or off or when there was a pause,” the petition says.
“The totality of the text messages give the appearance respondent believed the defendant was innocent and that she wanted a particular outcome in the case,” the petition says.
5. Traci Soderstrom Was Also Accused of ‘Sexist’ Behavior for Having Men Photographed in Hot Pink Chairs in Her Chambers
A judge in Oklahoma sent over 500 texts to her bailiff during a trial involving the murder of a 2-year-old. District Judge Traci Soderstrom mocked the size of the prosecutor’s genitals, praised the defense, called the key witness a liar, and sexualized a testifying officer.
In January, Soderstrom told a courthouse employee she was going to have men photographed in the hot pink chairs in her chambers, the petition says.
Thereafter, the Council on Judicial Complaints “received an allegation that the male attorneys were being asked to pose for pictures in the pink chairs and the pictures were being displayed in the respondent’s outer chambers. There were no pictures of women in the chairs. Some of the men reported feeling uncomfortable, but they did not feel like they could refuse,” the petition says.
Assistant DA Rachel Thompson told the judge and bailiff that the wall of male pictures was sexist. The judge told the bailiff, “You’re going to get me in trouble with these pink chairs,” the petition says.
Another accusation in the petition says Soderstrom published on Facebook to a group called Girl Attorney OK and wrote, “Note to future self calling motorcycle gangs stupid and juvenile to a room full of gang members may get you on a hit list” and added “One of these days I’ll learn to be judicial” after a hearing on the state’s notice to introduce gang evidence.
“There were some things that I did inappropriately,” Soderstrom told KFOR-TV in an interview after her resignation.
“I texted during a trial. The contents of the allegations I am not agreeing to because it didn’t matter,” said Soderstrom to KFOR. She insisted to the television station that she had not made up her mind on the case.
“I never had made up my mind and even if I did it wouldn’t matter because I was not the fact finder. The fact finder was the jury. At no time in any case had I made up my mind,” she told KFOR.
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