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LEHI -- A justice court judge in Lehi has been issued a public reprimand by the Utah Supreme Court after pulling out a handgun in his courtroom. The incident actually happened nearly a year ago, but action by the Supreme Court was only taken in recent weeks.
Judge Garry Sampson is the justice judge residents face for speeding tickets and other minor offenses, but his decision to pull out the gun has resulted in a public reprimand.
An investigation found that Sampson was "acting in joking manner," but he pointed a handgun at a court bailiff for several seconds, causing alarm to the court staff.
According the agreement released by the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission, the bailiff was jokingly threatening to toss water on the judge in a moment of horseplay on March 30 of last year. The judge responded by pulling out a handgun and pointing it at her, which, according to the report, frightened the baliff, a court clerk and a victim advocate who were all in the courtroom.
No one else saw what happened.
On Dec. 17, the Utah Supreme Court signed off on the agreement with the Judicial Conduct Commission to give Sampson a reprimand. He has agreed to never bring a gun to court again.
Justice judges are appointed by the city or county they represent. In Sampson's case, Lehi's administrators are quoted in the agreement as saying they support him through the reprimand.
KSL News attempted to ask Sampson for a response, and an employee of the justice court came outside and told us that he had no comment on the reprimand.
Our calls to Lehi City's administration have not been returned.
E-mail: spenrod@ksl.com
