LA PLATA, Md.– Charles County Orphans’ Court Judge William “Bill” Dotson quit on Nov. 30 following disciplinary allegations relating to his misuse of social media.
Dotson, who served as a judge of Charles County Orphans’ Court since 2020, was under investigation for using his power to advance his personal interests while engaging in a public partisan political discussion on social media, according to court documents.
In addition to joining the politically fueled discussion, Dotson was accused of improperly giving legal advice on social media, according to the charging documents.
Since Dotson resigned from the court, the commission withdrew its plans to hold a hearing on the allegation, which handles probate matters. However, the charges are still on the commission’s website.
Along with Dotson helping local businesses with his stature, the commission cited Dotson using his Facebook to help him to advertise hiring efforts for his business, according to the charging documents.
“Need laborers who can use an impact drill to work Saturday,” Dotson said in the post on Sep. 24, 2021. “PM (private message) me if you would like to make some extra money! I need help!”
These advertisements violated the code’s prohibition on judges lending the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interest of the judge or others or allow them to do so, according to court documents.
Also, in October 2021, Dotson posted comments on his Facebook page in the fall of 2021 endorsing then-President Donald Trump’s tariffs on foreign businesses as a way to support U.S. manufacturing, according to the commission’s charges.
“Did you know the former administration put tariffs on foreign goods which helped bring back manufacturing to the USA,” Dotson said in the post. “Today, in order to address supply chain issues, the Biden administration is removing those tariffs. Did you know that what that really means is that the administration is really just going back to sending USA manufacturing jobs out of the country.”
Dotson also posted comments in January criticizing the county council for treating COVID-19 as a pandemic rather than an endemic, the commission stated.
Then, in 2022, Dotson agreed with the commission to take specific actions including removing endorsements of businesses and charities as well as posts that advocate for political or legal issues.
After a review of Dotson’s Facebook on Aug. 25, the commission saw he still had the posts out for public view, according to court documents. This meant Dotson did not comply with the agreement and was subject to punishment, according to the charging documents.
The commission followed with its formal charges on Oct. 26 and gave Dotson 30 days to respond. Dotson resigned on Nov. 30.
Read the full charging document below:
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Nothing would have happened to him if he was a democrat…
Fact! The Left is vicious and relentless.
Take notes Conservative Americans , fight fire with fire …
Agree 100%
All of his comments are completely correct. Let’s stop this cry baby cancel culture. America we need to open our eyes and get strong again. Biden and democrat crew are destroying our country.
I agree with all the comments above! This is just ridiculous! I hope this country gets back on the right path soon.
So Dotson was caught using his power to forward his own interests and there are people here who will ignore that just because he’s a conservative? Wow.
To those who are claiming (whining) that this is “cancel culture” or that the outcome is because Dotson is a Republican: If you have proof that any other orphan’s court judge of any party has committed sanctionable conduct, bring it and let the chips fall where they may. The rules apply to everybody.
This could have been avoided had Dotson been smart enough to firewall his judicial persona from his social media/business persona and to generally follow the rules that every other orphan’s court judge is MADE AWARE OF and must follow. He wasn’t. Oh well.
The vicious left has been out to get him for years. They can’t stand any opinions other than their own.
Gotta love the so called “conservatives”. People who profess to believe in the “rule of law”. According to the article, which clearly none of the fanatics bothered to read, Mr. Doston broke the law. Agreed to cease and desist, didn’t do so and suffered the consequences. But all the freaks who think they are conservatives come out to spew their conspiracy laden, fact free bile.
why not just let the charges play out?
Why not actually read the article?
“These advertisements violated the code’s prohibition on judges lending the prestige of judicial office to advance the personal or economic interest of the judge or others or allow them to do so, according to court documents.”
Dotson should have known better. He surely could understand the limits and restrictions set for judges when he was appointed. Good that he resigned.