Judicial Council requested to investigate judge for alleged lack of impartiality

Santo Domingo, DR.– Lawyers Jorge Lora Olivares and Jorge Lora Castillo requested the Judicial Council to open an investigation against Judge Octavia Carolina Fernández Curi, whom they accuse of having compromised the impartiality of a judicial process by acknowledging during a hearing that she had a personal situation with one of the legal representatives in the case.

The complaint was filed so that the General Directorate of Inspection of the Judicial Council could examine the actions of the judge, who at that time was serving as a substitute for the Fourth Criminal Chamber of the Court of First Instance of the National District.

According to the complainants, during a hearing held on July 2, 2026, the magistrate publicly expressed that she had personal differences with lawyer Jorge Lora Castillo, due to a recusal and a complaint that he had previously filed against her.

According to the lawyers’ version, despite acknowledging that situation, the judge did not decide to recuse herself from hearing the case nor did she issue a decision on the motion for recusal filed. Instead, she postponed the hearing until next July 30.

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The complaint states that the magistrate declared that her personal situation did not affect her impartiality, although she indicated that she had to evaluate whether she would continue to hear the case. However, the lawyers maintain that this position created uncertainty and cast doubt on the objectivity with which the court was required to act.

Likewise, they state that they proposed excluding lawyer Jorge Lora Castillo from the process to avoid any inconvenience and allow the hearing to continue. However, they assert that the judge rejected that possibility, considering that such a decision could be interpreted as a request for the lawyer’s exclusion.

The complainants consider that the statements made by the magistrate evidence an alleged enmity with one of the lawyers in the proceedings and understand that this circumstance should have motivated her immediate recusal.

The events took place during a hearing corresponding to case file No. 2026-0082967, in which lawyers Jorge Lora Olivares and Emmanuel Beato appeared on behalf of the accusing party.

Faced with this situation, the jurists requested that the Judicial Council investigate the actions of Judge Fernández Curi and determine whether she engaged in conduct incompatible with the principles of independence, impartiality, and ethics that govern the exercise of judicial functions.