Florida ALJ Arrested
From the
Tampa Bay Times:
A Pinellas County administrative law judge was arrested Sunday on
charges of DUI and leaving the scene of a crash after driving the wrong
way on Gunn Highway and striking another car, deputies said.
Arline
Colon, 49, was driving a Jeep Wrangler south in the northbound lanes
near Isbell Lane in the Odessa area shortly before 9 p.m. when she
crashed into a Nissan Altima, according to the Hillsborough County
Sheriff's Office....
Colon did not stop to provide any
information and continued driving south, but the Jeep's front axle
snapped and it came to a stop in the road near North Mobley Road,
deputies said, about a mile from the crash scene.
A deputy arrived and found Colon sitting in a gray sedan parked nearby.
She had a visible seatbelt mark on her body, her wallet was found in the
Jeep's front passenger and her flip flops were found under the brake
pedal, according to the Sheriff's Office. Deputies say Colon smelled of
alcohol, had slurred speech, bloodshot and watery eyes and was unable to
stand under her own power. ...
Florida Bar records show Colon is an administrative law judge for the
U.S. Social Security Administration’s St. Petersburg office. ...
Records show Sunday's arrest is Colon's second this year.
She was arrested Aug. 17 and charged with providing false information to a law enforcement officer, a first degree misdemeanor. ...
32 comments:
According to her disposition data, she grants in the 20s, so I'm sure the agency will keep her. If she paid over 60%, she would be gone.
Providing false information to a law enforcement officer suggests poor credibility.
The Agency does not discipline ALJ’s, regardless of the egregiousness of their misconduct. Recall how many years it took before the ALJ was finally disciplined in the Conn case, even though Senior Agency Officials knew about it long before. There are other ALJ’s whom the Agency knows has a history of domestic violence, stalking, harassment, computer hacking, etc., but senior officials continue to do absolutely nothing about such conduct. At a time when other government officials have been removed for similar and far less egregious offenses, it is outrageous SSA and OHO continue to do nothing.
DAA seems to be material to her disposition
Another Tampa/St. Pete low granting ALJ got a DUI when he hit a car a few years ago.
She was a GS13 senior attorney in Jacksonville before getting promoted to ALJ in 2008 - did 2 years in Evansville Indiana then to St Petersburg Florida. Salary was >$172K in 2017.
2:20 - that is simply not true. There are ALJs who have been removed solely due to alleged conduct, before any actual court disposition is rendered.
@8:08,
2:20 here. I find your assertion very difficult to believe. Certainly, it has not been something I have ever witnessed, or read about, and inconsistent with the numerous years leading up to the Conn case, when the Agency very well knew of the ALJ’s misconduct from its own employees, no less, and deliberately turned a blind eye to the whole situation, until they were forced to address it once the Wall Street News article was published. Further, I am aware of other alleged ALJ misconduct Senior Agency Officials similarly turned a blind eye to and shoved under the rug, because the ALJ is viewed as some sort of, “Golden Boy,” due to his production. Apparently, “Golden Boy” production means more to the Agency than credible allegations of misconduct, which include domestic violence, harassment, stalking, etc.
I think it takes the justice system longer to discipline white lawyers than regular folk. 2nd DUI? Those things are costly and time consuming to handle for most folk.
Maybe she needs mental health help and should be on SSDI?
She seems to have deteriorated quantity wise. She only did about a third of the cases in 2018 as she did in previous years. I also wonder why ALJs get away with doing so many dismissals.
@8:33 Get away with doing dismissals?
The normal dismissal is this. Agency sends out a hearing notice to the claimant. The fated day arrives and no one shows up. The ALJ dismisses.
If the claimant appeals the dismissal in nearly every case the Appeals Council sends it back to have a hearing.
Dismissal rates are a function of claimants showing up, not the actions of the ALJ.
"I also wonder why ALJs get away with doing so many dismissals." Maybe because the claimants' cant bother to show up at their hearings, or can't get off from work to come to the hearing, or disappear into the wilderness and leave no forwarding address??? You want a chance to get a free check and medical insurance for the rest of your life? You have to show up. Just like the free government cheese and butter back in the 60s - they did not go looking for you to give you the free cheese. You had to show up and stand in line. Unfortunately in the SSA world, your not showing up does not let the next person get there faster - it just clogs up the system for everyone else who have been waiting for a long time.
She denies a large percentage of cases, which I am guessing has something to do with her high dismissal rate...Claimant sees who the assigned judge is and skips the hearing. Or unethical representative sees who the Judge is and withdraws at the last minute, so the claimant doesnt bother going either.
When a Judge has a high denial rate, you tend to see a higher dismissal rate. I represent claimants, so I am not trying to slander them or representatives. It's just a fact that this happens - it shouldnt but it does.
I was just comparing thir actions prior to a dismissal ...one letter and dismiss if they do not show up...to what the DDS has to go through for a FTC or an insufficient evidence determinations. ...multiple letters and multiple phone calls to multiple people and then start over if a reviewer finds a random number or third party in some old medical record.
She was arrested this past summer for making false statements to a law enforcement officer regarding a domestic situation. This makes me wonder if she has made false statements or misrepresented evidence in decisions denying claimants benefits?
@756--a hearing is quite a bit different than trying to track someone down for FTC. How many attempts does the hearing office have to make to try to pay you your money?
CRs that handle regular claims can be much more lenient in giving more time for proofs, etc than ones that handle say internet claims where the work volume is much higher. When time is short due to high work volume, be it a CR or an ALJ, there is only going to be the bare minimum done before the next case is taken up.
This is a good person going through a very difficult time.
Something y'all are missing is related to the new EO on ALJs and the impending court fight over whether ALJs are inferior officers, should be in the competitive service/have APA protections, etc.
This person and all other ALJs SSA wants to discipline more harshly than a reprimand are entitled (and according to OPM's guidance after the ALJ-related EO, even excepted service new ALJs are to be treated exactly the same!) to crazy APA due process. SSA has to take these issues to the MSPB, win with the single decision maker and, if the ALJ appeals, win on a full board decision before it can actually implement the discipline. In the interim? Well, since almost every conceivable basis for such discipline includes at least the implicit assertion that the person should not be judging, SSA has to park them on admin leave and let them sit at home once it makes that call and starts the process.
That's why Krafsur has been hanging out at home on admin leave for, what, like five years now? And don't forget MSPB has no quorum (to do the full board second level decisions) and Congress ensured they won't give them a quorum until early next year at the earliest.
ALJ's waiting on the MSPB to decide their fates will be clocking a whole lot of admin leave over the next few years as MSPB grinds its way through the backlog it's grown lately (not to mention the normal process was already lengthy!).
So, if you dislike the near-inability for SSA to move on bad judges, maybe you should warm up to the idea of them not being in the competitive service and having all those huge APA protections.
Thank you 8:37. This judge is well known in the agency with many that care about her. She did a horrible thing and will have to answer for it. But there are many who know her and hope the spiral ends.
I recently had a hearing and, despite the outcome, she demostrated fairness and comprehension. I am sure that all this is not a reflection of her being a bad person. We all have circumstances in life that are very hard. No matter what profession.
I hope that this woman will seek treatment for an obvious drinking problem and go to AA. Her life is in a shambles and she will probably lose her job. I cannot imagine her family life is good. But for the grace go all of us...
She is a tough but very fair Judge. I have practiced before her for almost a decade, and she has always known the details of her cases. She is having a tough personal time, and will obviously have to answer for what she did. But we shouldnt pile on assuming the worst about her and her job performance. She has been an asset to the agency, and I hope she can get this situation turned around.
It is difficult for someone like me to have much sympathy for a "tough but fair" ALJ who has clearly made her own bed. I doubt she has has been "understanding" to others with their own self-inflicted issues. I have been unable to work for nearly 5 years. Federal judge just rubber stamped the ALJ decision. This system is a mochery of justice. Basically, judges and ALJs can make any decision they want, the truth be damned! Tough, but fair, when dealing with peoples lives looks a lot like heartless.
There is no such thing as being "tough but fair" when being an SSA judge. There are medical opinions that are well supported in a good portion of claims files that direct a finding of disability. To have a high denial rate necessitates unjustly ignoring well supported opinions. A high denial rate can't be achieved without doing so. Therefore, tough but fair are contradicting terms, in SSA, because there is nothing fair about being tough and ignoring well supported medical opinions.
I wish the best for her recovery and well being.
It is my understanding that an ALJ must be a state bar member. I assume her big hurdle will be the State Bar. If its Florida, her law license is now in jeopardy.
Social Security should has zero tolerance when it comes these kind of cases. Taking actions earlier will save lives.
That's because she was in a training cadre in 2018 training other new ALJs
She was my judge. I could tell by her questions that she had read my file inside and out. I wish her the best ~ hope that she can overcome this trial in her life and get back on a healthy/happy track.
Judge Arline Colon is a human being who makes mistakes just like everyone else on this blogspot! No one knows her story or what she has went through to get to this point. No need to try to figure it out. She has been through enough already most of you have no idea what it takes to be a ALJ. I met her she was a decent person in my opinion, I forgot to thank her for having mercy on me. I pray and hope that she is doing well and will get the help she needs.
She is a decent human being who makes mistakes just like everyone else on this blog post she had mercy on me in my case. And I never got to thank her. I hope she gets the help she needs and will overcome her obstacles in life if she hasn't already. And I hope that the person she hit will forgive her and heal if they were hurt.
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