The question before a Colombian commission to review judicial conduct was not whether justice was blind, but whether she should have her clothes on.
Earlier this month, Colombian Judge Vivian Polania was seen during a virtual court hearing lying in her bed and smoking a cigarette. She appeared to be without the common item of judicial apparel known as pants, according to the New York Post. (Warning: The linked article contains photos that some readers may find offensive.)
The Judicial Disciplinary Commission in Norte de Santander slapped her with a three-month suspension, the Post reported, saying its information came from the Spanish-language news outlet Infobae.
Polania conducted the hearing in what observers believed to be her underwear. The case in front of her concerned setting bail for a suspect in a June 2021 car bombing in Cúcuta aimed at an army brigade.
The ruling said Polania kept her camera off for almost an hour before a brief reveal showed her in bed in a “deplorable” state, looking “disheveled with sleepy eyes” and talking with slurred speech.
The camera was turned back off once Polania was informed it had been turned on.
“Such a situation is not consistent with the care, respect and circumspection with which a judge of the republic must administer justice, denoting a clear lack of respect from the official,” the commission’s ruling read.
“It is a duty of this commission to avoid repeating the judge’s contempt for the investiture of her position and the contempt she showed with her peers in the public prosecutor’s office, the prosecution and the defense,” the commission wrote, according to the Independent.
“We find no justification for the judge to have presented herself in such deplorable conditions when she had the facilities of her own home and all the amenities necessary to prepare for a public hearing appropriately and with the respect such a hearing deserved.”
Should this judge have been suspended?
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Polania has cast aside the concept of judicial restraint on her personal Instagram page, where she poses in her underwear and other skimpy attire.
Her response to the controversy those pictures caused was to label herself a “braless and open-minded” individual.
“Not all judges, lawyers and other state employees are the same. What I wear and show on my social media is my decision, and I’m not going to change a thing,” she said.
She also claimed the commission got it all wrong in the video incident, saying she was not half-naked and that an anxiety attack and low blood pressure forced her to lie down.
Vivian Polania is a judge in Colombia famous for posting provocative pictures of herself just got suspended from her lofty judicial position for showing up to a virtual court hearing HALF-NAKED#VivianPolania#Colombia#judge#ZoomCall#VivianPolaniaZoomhttps://t.co/0uEvThkJSY
— Its Wikipedia (@its_wikipedia) November 25, 2022
In an interview with Blu Radio, Polania said overwork has led to mental health issues. She also says her other judges have long threatened to punish her over her clothing choices.
She told the Colombian outlet Semana, her clothes have been an issue since she arrived in Cúcuta, but that she is just over it all.
“I got tired of pleasing people over my peace of mind,” she said, claiming she will not change who she is to suit other people.
