A Marion County district attorney had to formally request that a judge stop hearing criminal cases because she no longer believes he can be fair, impartial, or objective — and eight fellow judges backed her play. When prosecutors are forced to protect the public from the bench, the justice system has inverted itself.

Judge Channing Bennett is under investigation for allegedly calling a female prosecutor and a female judge a four-letter misogynistic vulgarity at an Oregon Circuit Court Judges Association conference in Sunriver in April. Both women serve in Marion County. The incident wasn't a one-off, according to DA Paige Clarkson, who cited Bennett's "prior and subsequent conduct" in her June 2 letter requesting he be barred from cases involving her office.

"I have the duty to ensure that the efforts of my staff are met with professionalism and respect and can be fulfilled without fear of harassment, retaliation or hostility," Clarkson wrote, as reported by the Salem Statesman Journal.

Eight Marion County judges separately urged the presiding judge to keep Bennett out of the courtroom entirely until the investigation wraps or discipline is imposed. That's not a fringe complaint — that's the bench itself saying one of their own shouldn't be sitting.

Bennett has apologized, sort of. "I used language that was inappropriate and I take full responsibility," he said in a May 20 statement, while noting the incident occurred "at an evening social function with colleagues" — as though the setting softens a judge referring to female colleagues with a degrading slur.

The Oregon Judicial Department confirmed Bennett is "taking some time away from the bench" and that all his cases have been reassigned. A complaint has been filed with the Commission on Judicial Fitness and Disability, and outside counsel has been retained to investigate. If the commission finds a violation occurred, it can recommend censure, suspension, or removal to the Oregon Supreme Court.

Here's the stake ordinary Americans should consider: judges oversee stalking and domestic violence cases. Someone with knowledge of the case raised the obvious question — would victims feel safe walking into Bennett's courtroom knowing what he allegedly called women who serve the law? The credibility of the entire courtroom depends on the judge's basic respect for the people before him. When that's gone, the process is a sham.

Oregon law keeps commission complaints confidential unless formal charges are filed, so the public may never learn the full scope of what triggered this rare rebuke. A judge who can't treat colleagues with basic decency now sits cooling his heels while the system decides whether his position is salvageable. The question isn't just whether Bennett returns to the bench — it's why it took a DA's formal letter and eight judges' signatures to keep him off it.