Another federal judge is being tried for alleged workplace abuse of his subordinates

The judge of the Federal Oral Court of La Pampa, Pablo Díaz Lacava, charged with injuries, threats, workplace abuse, and gender violence, and suspended from his position, sat today in the jury box of the Council of the Judiciary, where it will be decided whether or not his removal is appropriate. The accusers are counselors Diego Barroetaveña, president of the Federal Chamber of Cassation, and deputy Álvaro González. Both stated that the magistrate made his officials and employees live through "a true hell," assured that this situation affected the justice service, and announced that they will request his removal for misconduct. The defense, led by constitutional lawyer Andrés Gil Domínguez, rejected the charges, provided details of workplace situations, and claimed that "the damage was not proven." The jury offered the judge to speak, but Díaz Lacava announced he would testify at the end of the process. "I want to testify and give my version of the accusations I have heard for more than three and a half years, but I prefer not to do so at this moment. The accusation has changed, and I want to hear the evidence that will be produced in the upcoming sessions so that, eventually, at the conclusion of the evidence, I can be asked questions. I will testify later," he said. Díaz Lacava is the third judge subjected to a jury in less than a year. Last year, Martín Poderti was removed from an oral court in Mar del Plata, and the jury's decision on Judge Alfredo López of that city, accused of posting antisemitic messages on social media, is awaited. Jury for Judge Díaz LacavaCouncil of the Judiciary After the judge of La Pampa, it will be Rosario judge Gastón Salmain's turn, charged with accepting bribes in exchange for rulings and having hidden from his résumé that he had been dismissed from the Judiciary for attempting to manipulate a lottery. The Jury of Enjuiciamiento is composed of judges Marcelo Gastón Bartumeu Romero (president) and Néstor Pablo Barral, senators María Belén Montes de Oca and María Florencia López, deputies Nicolás Mayoraz and Christian Alejandro Zulli, and lawyer Ana Beatriz Fernández. Díaz Lacava has been suspended from his duties by the Plenary of the Council since last April. In April 2023, secretaries from his court accused him of workplace abuse, abuse of authority, coercion, and gender violence. According to the Council's accusatory report, the magistrate engaged in "serious misconduct, lack of probity, and decorum." Among these, throwing a stone at an employee. The judge is charged in a criminal case with minor and serious injuries, simple and coercive threats, committed against two workers and four judicial employees "in a context of violence, workplace abuse, and, in the case of the women victims, in a context of gender violence." He is about to go to oral trial. Diego Barroetaveña and Álvaro GonzálezCouncil of the Judiciary As "prosecutors" in the process, the appellate judge Diego Barroetaveña and deputy Álvaro González, representing the Council of the Judiciary, reviewed the facts for which the magistrate was accused. "It's not flattering to be here sitting accusing a colleague. But other officials, judges, and employees were also harmed here," said Barroetaveña. The judge pointed out that the process "is not just a workplace conflict or disagreement or dispute over management styles. Nor are we facing an isolated episode of having a bad day. This puts the function of the judiciary at stake in a mechanism of abuse of power." Barroetaveña assured that there was a "pattern of conduct over time": he described that employees were afraid to enter the offices due to "uncertainty in the face of unpredictable reactions" from the judge, and recounted situations such as "shouting and insults," "rages," "hits on the desk," "interrogations of employees," threats of sanctions, and "persecutory" attitudes. "How can one work in this context? Can justice be delivered like this?" he asked. And, after pointing out that the employees lived through "a true hell," Barroetaveña stated that "a judge should not throw a stone at an official and say it's a joke." The defense At his turn, Gil Domínguez reviewed the judge's judicial career and sought to overturn the accusation. He provided details of a better relationship between the judge and his complainants. "What is the proven damage of the complainants?" he asked. Although he doubted the "good taste" of the magistrate's supposed joke, he minimized the size of the thrown stone. He also took the opportunity to question the indictment issued in La Pampa, which prevents Díaz Lacava from accessing his court to avoid contact with the victims. Witnesses will be heard in the upcoming hearings, and then the jury will decide.