The Arizona Republic reports today that earlier this week a former judicial law clerk and a current court employee filed federal civil rights suits against two Arizona Court of Appeals judges. Regina Pangerl accuses Judge Susan Ehrlich of discriminating against her because she is Mormon. Her claim apparently has merit because the state's Commission on Judicial Conduct reprimanded Judge Ehrlich in a non-public proceeding. Pangerl also accuses Chief Judge Sheldon Weisberg of intimidating her into quitting when she requested a transfer from her position with Judge Erlich. In a second suit, Luz Hellman, who is married to one Court of Appeals judge and works for another, accused Judge Weisberg of threatening her with criminal prosecution and dismissal after she leaked two internal memos related to Pangerl's complaints against Ehrlich.
