Judge Lance Ito in “Unfinished Business”

Judge Lance Ito

A concern has been raised regarding the court’s ability to be fair and impartial. It could be argued that the court would not want the court’s wife to be embarrassed. And what’s unfortunate is that things are said about people all the time, things that are not accurate, not kind, disparaging. I love my wife dearly, and I am… wounded by criticism of her, as any spouse would be. And, uh… I think that it would be reasonable to assume that… could have some impact. Women who work in male-dominated professions, I think, are tougher than most. [Chris glances at Marcia as he says this] And if they are successful, they are almost always… targets for this kind of treatment. There is also an argument that this court, in ruling, might be motivated to punish Detective Fuhrman for making these statements about his wife. So it cuts both ways. This may be a conflict for me, which could trigger a mistrial, so… I think that another judge has to determine whether or not this case can remain before this court.