November 2009 - 11/30/2009, Did Patterson violate judicial ethics?, Austin
Chronicle, "Former Austin Democratic state Rep. Glen Maxey this
morning filed a complaint with the State Commission on
Judicial Conduct, arguing that 3rd Court of Appeals Judge Jan
Patterson violated judicial ethics when she told the Chronicle last
month that Gov. Rick Perry had approached her to apply for an
appointment to the Travis Co. civil court bench."
- 11/30/2009, Civil cases against judges involve emotional suffering,
the Philadelphia Inquirer, "Former Judges Mark A. Ciavarella Jr.
and Michael T. Conahan are
awaiting trial on 48 charges of racketeering, fraud, and bribery in
connection with an alleged $2.8 million "kids-for-cash" kickback
scheme, but they are also the lead defendants in four civil cases
brought by the JLC and three private attorneys on behalf of the youths
who were sentenced."
- 11/25/2009, Court denies Lokuta request on pay, benefits, Times
Leader, Harrisburg PA, "The state Supreme Court has denied former
judge Ann Lokuta’s
request to reinstate her pay and benefits pending a ruling by the state
Court of Judicial Discipline regarding her attempt to be reinstated to
the bench."
- 11/21/2009, Judge Thomas Porteous' case is a window into a culture of corruption: An editorial, NOLA, "Members of a House Judiciary Committee task force this week heard testimony
from attorneys Robert Creely and Jacob Amato Jr., who said they gave
Judge Porteous more than $20,000 in cash, including while they had
cases pending in front of him."
- 11/21/2009, 24th Judicial District Judge Joan Benge asks state Supreme Court to reconsider her removal, NOLA, "Justices unanimously called for Benge's removal Nov. 6, finding she
threw a civil case in 2001 based on relationships with a fellow judge
and an attorney instead of the evidence."
- 11/21/2009, Decision based on state, county duties, Times-Leader (Pennsylvania), "[U.S. District Court judge Richard Caputo] outlined the allegation that former judges Mark Ciavarella and Michael Conahan
“abused their positions as judges of the Luzerne County Court of Common
Pleas by accepting compensation in return for favorable judicial
determinations...”
- 11/19/2009, Commission recommends reprimand for Lamar judge, Hattiesburg American [Mississippi], "The recommendation, issued late this afternoon, cited nine specific
instances of misconduct, including failing to issue rulings in cases
and issue timely rulings, relying on “ex parte” information to issue an
arrest warrant, improperly holding a defendant without bond and
behaving improperly or create the appearance of behaving improperly
toward a litigant involved in a pending case."
- 11/19/2009, DA Craig Watkins defends wife's consulting firm, says opposition shouldn't attack his family in e-mail to supporters, Dallas News, "exploring
whether it was a conflict of interest for the wife of Dallas County
District Attorney Craig Watkins to have a political consulting firm
that included seven judges who preside over criminal courts."
- 11/19/2009, Justice Department Has Grassroots Reform Groups Hot Under The Blue Collar,
Earth Times, "POPULAR, Inc. publicizing its first report card on the
Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division for the U. S. Department
of Justice (DOJ). The division section got high grades for good manners
but “incompletes” and an “F” in substantive performance areas as well
as an “F” for persistence due to its limited prosecutions of 18 U.S.C.
sections 241 and 242 violations."
- 11/18/2009, Gilpatric: I'm not the only one late, The Times Union, "ALBANY -- Attorneys debated before the state Court of Appeals Tuesday
over whether Judge James Gilpatric should be disciplined for slowness
in handling cases."
- 11/17/2009, 7 Dallas judges hire DA's wife,
Houston Chronicle, "DALLAS — Seven judges who preside over criminal
cases have hired the wife of Dallas County District Attorney Craig
Watkins as a political consultant for their 2010 re-election campaigns,
a newspaper reported Tuesday."
- 11/14/2009. Why isn't Peters facing prison too? ,The Greenwood Commonwealth, "But DeLaughter was a skunk as a state judge, letting his ambition
to be appointed to the federal bench and his backroom coziness with his
former boss tangle him in a web of corruption."
- 11/14/2009, Book: ‘I’ll take care of it’ sinks Scrugg, The Sun Herald,
"With five words, 'I’ll take care of it,' famed asbestos- and
tobacco-suing billionaire Mississippi lawyer Dickie Scruggs was
'transformed into a felon,' say authors Alan Lange and Tom Dawson in
'Kings of Tort,' a nonfiction book set for release on Dec. 2."
- 11/14/2009, Judicial Standards panel: Ban Belk, Charlotte Observer, "But last month, Belk announced that the judicial commission had
informed him of its plan to seek his removal. He has suggested he was
targeted because of his efforts to reform the state's justice system."
- 11/13/2009, DeLaughter sentenced to 18 months in prison, The Sun Herald, "Bobby DeLaughter, a history-making prosecutor who became a judge, was
sentenced Friday to 18 months for federal obstruction in a case that
ended his career and brought down some of the most powerful lawyers in
Mississippi."
- 11/13/2009, Famed Miss. judge faces prison for lying to FBI, Associated Press,"[DeLaughter]
His storied career came crashing down in the bribery scandal that also
snagged Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, the chief architect of the
multibillion-dollar tobacco litigation of the 1990s, depicted in the
movie "The Insider," starring Al Pacino and Russell Crowe."
- 11/13/2009, Lawyers to ask Louisiana Supreme Court to change its mind about removing Judge Joan Benge, The Times-Picayune,
"In a unanimous decision, justices found 'clear and convincing'
evidence that she ruled on a lawsuit in 2001 based on her relationship
with then-Judge Ronald Bodenheimer and an attorney instead of the
case's merits."
- 11/12/2009, Group calls for judge to resign over inappropriate remarks, Minnesota Public Radio,
St. Paul, Minn., "A court watchdog group has demanded the resignation
of Hennepin County Judge Stephen Aldrich, after the judge allegedly
made a joke about murder during a hearing on a domestic violence
restraining order"
- 11/12/2009, Ga. DA asks for special prosecutor in judge's case, Atlanta (AP) -"Superior Court Judge Oliver Harris Doss Jr. was charged Monday with 11 counts of judicial misconduct."
- 11/12/2009, Luzerne officials deny knowing of abuse, Philadelphia Inquirer,
"a special panel investigating judicial corruption in Luzerne County,
yesterday's testimony gave off the steady and unmistakable sound of the
buck being passed."
- 11/07/2009 Juvie Justice hearing to resume here, TimesLeader.com, "State panel continueing probe into how cash-for-kids scandal could occur and how to prevent it from happening again."
- 11/07/2009 The Best Politicians Money Can Buy, Miami Herald,
"Rothstein donated piles of money to different candidates, but Crist
was one of his faves. . .for his generosity, Rothstein was rewarded by
Crist with an appointment to the Fourth District Court of Appeals
Judicial Nominating Commission."
- 11/05/2009 Olszewski goose cooked by photo, analyst contends, TimesLeader.com,
"Luzerne County Judge Peter Paul Olszewski’s bid for retention was
essentially doomed the day a photo of him posing with a convicted drug
dealer and disgraced former colleague was made public, a local
political analyst said.'
- 11/05/2009 Jury Convicts ex-judge of fraud, money laundering, Miami-Dade
- 11/05/2009 Indonesians Rise up against 'Judicial mafia'," Voice of America.
- 11/04/2009 Decisive meeting on corruption: 141 governments meet in Doha starting 9 November2009. Transparency International, Berlin.
October 2009
- 10/30/2009, Complaints against judges turn into lengthy probes, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "The judge expressed bias from the bench, misstated the law to defendants and
engaged in ex parte communications, according to the commission’s Notice of
Formal Proceedings. He referred to black people in court as “colored” and
screamed at a defendant to 'shut up.'"
- "Community Meetings on Judicial Oversight set to Begin," PRWeb
press release, October 29, 2009.Community meetings are set to begin
across America on the topic of judicial oversight and accountability.
The National Forum On Judicial Accountability (NFOJA) is coordinating
this historical effort. In addition to deterring judicial misconduct,
NFOJA's proposed legislation would provide venues for addressing
alleged judicial misconduct "... that do not rely almost exclusively
for effectiveness on judicial integrity.
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