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Question XI
XI. Atty. Belinda appeared as counsel for accused Popoy in a case being heard before Judge Tadhana. After Popoy was arraigned, Atty. Belinda moved for a resetting of the pre-trial conference. This visibly irked Judge Tadhana and so before Atty. Belinda could finish her statement, Judge Tadhana cut her off by saying that if she was not prepared to handle the case, then he could easily assign a counsel de oficio for Popoy. Judge Tadhana also uttered that Atty. Belinda was wasting the precious time of the court. Atty. Belinda tried to explain that she was capable of handling the case but before she could finish her explanation, Judge Tadhana again cut her off and accused her of always making excuses for her incompetence. Judge Tadhana even declared that he did not care if Atty. Belinda filed a thousand administrative cases against him. According to Atty. Belinda, Judge Tadhana had also humiliated her like that in the past for the flimsiest of reasons. Even Atty. Belinda's clients were not spared from Judge Tadhana's wrath as he often scolded witnesses who failed to respond immediately to questions asked of them on the witness stand. Atty. Belinda filed an administrative case against Judge Tadhana. Do the acts of Judge Tadhana as described above constitute a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct? Explain. (3%)
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