The campaign is seeking to remove the controversial role-playing magistrate judge from the November ballot

A Kootenai County magistrate judge who appeared in court dressed as Darth Vader on Halloween with numerous reprimands is up for re-election in November. A campaign led by a former litigant in a divorce and custody case he led in 2012 hopes to remove him.

Judge Clark A. Peterson, 57, was appointed to the court in 2010 and has faced complaints over the years that his fantasy role-playing hobby was interfering with his legal work.

Kootenai County Prosecutor Stanley Mortensen had Peterson removed from all cases involving his office after he filed a sexual harassment complaint against the judge last year. Peterson was placed on administrative leave for seven months while the complaint was investigated by the Idaho Judicial Council, which publicly reprimanded Peterson for failing to secure his judicial chambers while he changed clothes.

“All of us in Kootenai County are at risk if we ever have to enter the courthouse,” said Tina Stevens, head of the Families Against Judge Peterson campaign. “We have an out-of-control judge who needs to be voted out.”

Peterson is one of four magistrate judges eligible for retention election, meaning voters can check “yes” or “no” on whether they want to remain in their position. The other judges are Anna Eckhart, James Combo and Destry Randles.

A simple majority is needed to retain the magistrate judges, said County Clerk Jennifer Locke.

The First Judicial District Magistrates Commission appoints magistrate judges as vacancies arise in North Idaho.

Because there are no opponents, judges usually win retention by large margins. Peterson won previous retention elections with 81% in 2012, 73% in 2016 and 81% in 2020.

Stevens ran another campaign against Peterson in 2016, which she said was derailed by stolen yard signs and an accident that prevented the distribution of fliers. She decided not to host one in 2020 due to the pandemic. This year, Stevens said she is in a better position to organize a campaign.

Stevens said she lost her home, tens of thousands of dollars and custody of her two children, who are now adults, because of the way he mishandled her case.

Campaigners call Peterson “Demon Lord,” referring to his former avatar: the demon prince Orcus, Lord of the Undead. According to a 2013 Spokesman-Review story, he posted hundreds of comments on online fantasy message boards while on the job.

Peterson’s attorney Jim Siebe said the judge is prohibited by judicial canons and rules of professional conduct from commenting on cases, even inactive cases.

The county attorney’s office filed a sexual harassment complaint against Peterson on behalf of a female deputy prosecutor last year over her objection. She said she thought it was an accident.

According to the complaint, the deputy knocked before walking in on Peterson putting on his gym clothes, despite knowing she was on her way to deliver paperwork.

The complaint stated that another female colleague claimed a similar incident had happened to her. In the complaint, prosecutors’ office supervisors said Peterson favored attractive female attorneys and defendants.

Siebe denied all allegations in the complaint, aside from the judicial council’s finding that he should have secured the door to his office, and said the prosecutor should not have made the complaint public by filing it in several lawsuits.

“The information in the public reprimand is what the judicial council concluded,” Siebe said. “It speaks for itself.”

The prosecution argued in court filings that because they accused Peterson of sexual harassment and because of other alleged past misconduct, Peterson is biased against the prosecution and therefore should be barred from presiding over cases involving the prosecution.

The Judicial Council’s investigation also looked into other allegations of misconduct by Peterson. On Halloween, he appeared in court dressed as Darth Vader, leaving his chambers with Star Wars music playing on his cell phone.

Peterson was publicly reprimanded by the Judicial Council in 2020 for falsifying vacation time records. He was personally reprimanded in 2015 after complaints about his gaming.

Peterson founded tabletop game companies Necromancer Games and Legendary Games.