judicialnews

Relaxed, expansive, and thoroughly at ease before a BBC television interviewer, Judge Alex Kozinski is holding forth at the San Francisco courthouse of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Just weeks before taking the gavel last November as the circuit's chief judge, Kozinski is sitting in Courtroom One of the extravagant Florentine-style palazzo. There's a mahogany and marble judge's bench in the background. Bare-breasted caryatids uphold a skylighted ceiling. Enormous, intricate mosaics line the wall. . . . Kozinski, however, isn't discussing recent case law or jurisprudential trends. Nope, he's talking movies. Kozinski is an expert on Hollywood films; he is also an expert on the cowboy novels of 19th-century author Karl May, as well as on building home computers. Filmwise, Kozinski is especially fond of courtroom dramas, which he described at length last year while attending a judicial conference in London. The BBC got wind of that and sent a crew to profile this maverick American jurist. . . . Kozinski tells the interviewer about arriving in America in 1962 at age twelve with his parents from Romania, and says he spent the next two years watching television. When he saw 12 Angry Men, Kozinski recalls, it set him on his life course. "God, so that's what law is all about," he remembers thinking. "That movie carried me through law school."

STATE COURTS

The Midwest Democracy Network and Justice at Stake recently released their latest report, The New Politics of Judicial Elections in the Great Lakes States, 2000-2008. Arguing that "nowhere is the nationwide struggle to control and influence state Supreme Court elections more ominous than in the Great Lakes region," the report shows how Wisconsin and four other Midwest states - Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, and Ohio - have "become the epicenter of a spreading arms race between corporate interests, trial lawyers, ideological groups and political partisans who are committed to bending state judges to their will." The report's press release can be accessed here. – Reported by Brennan Center

ALABAMA

Pickens County Judge Sentenced to 50 Months

WSFA, AL

5-13-08 -- Attorney General Troy King announced that former Pickens County Circuit Judge Ira Colvin was convicted Tuesday morning for possession of methamphetamine and sentenced to 50 months imprisonment and a $1000 drug crime fine. Colvin's sentence in Alabama would begin upon his completion of a 12-year sentence he is already serving in Mississippi for charges related to methamphetamine. . . . "This is a victory for the very integrity of justice for Alabama and the people of Pickens County," said Attorney General King. "It is a travesty for this man to have acted as a judge, sentencing other people for drug crimes, while he himself was breaking the law he had sworn to uphold, and to which he held others to account. His crimes demonstrate a betrayal and hypocrisy that warrant a stern penalty."

ARIZONA

Ex-judge denies charges, may sue town

Town leaders soon will hire new magistrate

By Nick Smith, The Explorer

5-14-08 -- Following the dismissal last month of Marana Judge Jim West, the town council is expected to decide this week on how to replace the magistrate. . . . West, though, believes he was wrongfully terminated and has hired an attorney to look into possibly suing the town. . . . “I’m going to be consulting with a labor law attorney regarding all my legal options at this point,” said West, who served in the magistrate position for six years. . . . Whether West sues the town doesn’t matter, according to Town Manager Mike Reuwsaat. The threatened litigation would have no bearing upon how a replacement judge is chosen. . . . In the meantime, officials enlisted the town’s seven-person roster of pro tempore judges to preside over the court and asked Arizona Superior Court Judge Jan Kearney to oversee day-to-day operations, according to Assistant Town Manager Deb Thalasitis.

DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA

Chief Judge to Step Down

King Is Praised For Reform Efforts

By Keith L. Alexander, Washington Post Staff Writer

5-10-08 -- Rufus G. King III, who is credited with improving D.C. Superior Court operations in nearly eight years as chief judge, said yesterday that he will step down from that job in the fall. . . . King, 66, made the announcement at a retreat for the court's judges, administrators and staff members. King's decision is expected to set off a race to succeed him among other judges in the courthouse. The panel that picks the chief judge typically announces its choice by mid-September. . . . As chief judge, King was called upon to show administrative know-how, legal acumen and the ability to lead dozens of judges in the court's criminal, civil, family and other divisions. King, the fifth chief judge since the court was founded in 1970, isn't leaving the court entirely. He will assume senior judge status after Oct. 1, at the conclusion of his term.

FLORIDA

Florida justice hails rule of law campaign

A Florida Supreme Court justice underscored the American Bar Association's aim to reinforce the rule of law in his speech at a Miami conference.

By Jay Weaver

5-14-08 -- Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero speaks Tuesday at the American Bar Association's meeting in downtown Miami. . . . Florida Supreme Court Justice Raoul Cantero on Tuesday gave a brief history lesson about his life, the United States and Cuba to dramatize how vital an independent judiciary is to a democratic society. . . . Cantero, born in Spain after his parents fled Castro's revolution in Cuba, touted this theme at an American Bar Association meeting in Miami to spread the message that the rule of law is the foundation of a civilized world. . . . ''As a judge, I understand the law is greater than any one person, greater than any judge,'' Cantero, 47, said during a speech at the Bank of America Tower in downtown Miami. . . . ''And no matter my personal feelings about a particular case, it is the law that must govern,'' he said. ``I feel fortunate to live in a country and a state where I can apply the law as I see fit, even if many would disagree with the result.'' . . . Cantero's speech underscored the ABA's campaign -- dubbed the World Justice Project -- to reinforce the rule of law in a wired global economy.

ILLINOIS

Cook County judge accused of DUI

By Kristen Schorsch, Staff writer

5-14-08 -- A Cook County judge allegedly was driving drunk when she slammed into the back of a minivan carrying five people last week in Tinley Park, police said Tuesday. . . . Sheila McGinnis, 47, of Chicago's Beverly community, was charged with drunken driving, failure to reduce speed to avoid an accident and no proof of valid insurance, according to a police report obtained Tuesday. No one was injured in the crash, police said. . . . McGinnis is due in court June 6 at the county courthouse in Bridgeview, where she's assigned as a judge. . . . The incident happened at 7:30 p.m. May 9 in the southbound lanes of Harlem Avenue at 182nd Street, police said. McGinnis was weaving from lane to lane, flashing her brights, sounding the horn of her 2004 Chevrolet Trailblazer and striking the curb south of 171st Street before she rear-ended a 2005 Chevrolet Uplander waiting at a red light, police said.

KANSAS

Kansas Plans to Shake Up State Court Judges

by Phyllis Schlafly

5-14-08 -- Kansas will have a proposition on the ballot in November that could send shock waves into the tenure of state court judges. The voters in Johnson County, Kansas (suburban Kansas City) will vote on the right to elect their 10th judicial district court judges instead of having them chosen by the lawyers. . . . We hear a lot in the media about bringing democracy to the world. Kansans are asking for more democracy in the middle of the United States. . . . How state judges get their jobs is a matter of state option, and there is a wide variety of rules. . . . Some state court judges are elected by the people, some in partisan elections, some in non-partisan elections. About half the states, including Kansas, use some variation of the so-called Missouri Plan, a process that originated only in the 1940s, which gives broad control to the licensed attorneys. . . . Missouri voters are unhappy with their Missouri Plan because the lawyers have successfully placed on the bench a succession of liberal judges, and it may be another six years before a Republican has a chance to be appointed to the state supreme court. In April, the lawyers successfully lobbied against the Missouri state legislature's attempt to reform the process. . . . Kansas gives its licensed lawyers an unusually powerful role in the selection of state supreme court justices. Some voters are beginning to see a connection between that extraordinary control and the judges' widely criticized decision to order the state legislature to appropriate hundreds of millions of dollars of additional taxpayers' money to the public schools. . . . The appropriation of taxpayer funds, and the raising of taxes that this necessarily requires, should absolutely be legislative, not judicial functions. The grabbing of spending and taxing powers by the courts is a major reason why we call these judges supremacists. . . . Under the Kansas procedure, when there is a vacancy on the Kansas supreme court, a Nominating Commission (on which the attorneys enjoy a 5-to-4 majority) secretly chooses its three favorites, and the Governor must pick one of those three. That's the whole process: no checking, no appeal, no oversight, no second opinion.

KENTUCKY

National Groups Want Judge In GED Case Removed

Web produced by: Neil Relyea Kentucky Post

5-14-08 -- There's a new development regarding a Butler County juvenile court judge's controversial ruling. . . . Judge David Niehaus sentenced Brian Gegner to six-months in jail because his daughter didn't get her GED. . . . Two groups, the National Coalition of Free Men, and the California Alliance for Families and Children want the judge removed from the case. . . . Gegner's daughter, Brittany, who is now 18-years-old, says if anybody should go to jail it should be her, not her dad. . . . There's a hearing on the case Friday morning.

MARYLAND

Judge punished for profanity

Lamdin draws a 30-day suspension

By Brent Jones | Sun reporter

5-14-08 -- The state's highest court suspended a Baltimore County judge yesterday for making profane and uncivil comments from the bench, issuing the harshest punishment for a Maryland judge in more than two decades and, observers said, sending a message to judges to watch their behavior. . . . The Court of Appeals found that District Judge Bruce S. Lamdin violated the state's judicial code of conduct. It accepted a judicial commission's recommendation that the judge be suspended for 30 days without pay. . . . Lamdin, 60, tossed profanities at defendants from the bench, joked that Circuit Court judges spend afternoons drinking rather than working and chastised a woman accused of prostitution by telling her, "Business must be good. ... If I released you, you'd be scratching that itch tonight." . . . To a man accused of speeding on Interstate 83, he asked, "What's the big rush to get back to Pennsylvania? It's an ugly state." When a woman left his courtroom with a crying baby he pointed out that confiscated cell phones are placed in plastic bags to be sent to Annapolis and added: "Maybe we ought to do the same thing with children except poke holes in the bag." . . . His comments included disparaging remarks about drug treatment programs and the Baltimore City criminal justice system. He said that one defendant couldn't seem to keep from stepping in "a pile of [expletive]." He used a slang term for oral sex while sentencing a woman on prostitution charges. . . . The Court of Appeals, in a 24-page opinion, said the conduct "was prejudicial to the administration of justice, manifested bias toward many groups, and lacked dignity, courtesy, and patience."

You can access the ruling of the Court of Appeals of Maryland --
at this link. . . . by Howard Bashman

MICHIGAN

Novi jurist regrets telling offender to kill himself

Court official says magistrate sorry for tirade during sentencing of underage drinker.

Oralandar Brand-Williams / The Detroit News

5-14-08 -- A magistrate who told a repeat underage drinker that he should slit his wrists or jump to his death is having second thoughts about her comments from the bench. . . . Novi 52-1 District Judge Brian MacKenzie, chief judge pro tem, said Monday that Magistrate Judith Holtz has said she regrets her choice of words. . . . "She's already indicated to us that she's not clear why it came out that way," said MacKenzie about Holtz's remarks. "She's very sorry for it and that it came out that way." . . . A statement Monday by court officials said the words chosen ... "to convey the seriousness and severity of the defendant's actions and crime could have been better chosen."

MISSISSIPPI

Easley's 'statement' is one of lack of respect for state's women

Sid Salter

5-14-08 -- Mississippi Supreme Court Justice Charles "Chuck" Easley has qualified to run for two state Supreme Court seats from the state's northern district - the one he has had since 2000 and the seat Justice Ann Hannaford Lamar of Senatobia was appointed to in 2007. . . . Since Easley can't legally occupy both of those seats on the bench of the state's highest court, why would a judge who wanted to be taken seriously resort to such a self-serving tactic - one that followed to its logical extreme could force the taxpayers to foot the bill for a special election? . . . Easley has told the press that he's qualified to seek both judicial posts in order to make a statement "about special interest groups wanting appointed judges. Mississippians should always have the right to vote for their judges." . . . Calling the current court "too liberal" and suggesting that it "bends over backwards for criminals," Easley told his hometown newspaper that he qualified for two Supreme Court seats to protest how governors appoint judges when midterm vacancies occur, he said. . . . "I want voters to maintain the right to elect their judges," Easley told The Columbus Commercial Dispatch on Saturday. "It seems to be whoever the governor wants to get appointed. It's just cronyism at its worst," Easley said.

NEVADA

Accused of Demanding Royal Treatment, Judge Fights Misconduct Charges

Ken Ritter, The Associated Press

5-13-08 -- Elizabeth Halverson is a judge. But the way courthouse staffers see it, she expects to be treated like a queen. . . . Her former bailiff, for example, says Halverson made him feel like a "houseboy." He says the judge -- who is obese and uses a motorized scooter to get around -- made him put her shoes on her feet, massage her back, cover her with a blanket for naps and make sure her oxygen tank was filled. He says she asked him, "Do you want to worship me from near or afar?" . . . Halverson also surrounded herself with her own hired guards, saying she did not trust the courthouse security force to protect her. Another time, she allegedly had her husband sworn in so that she could ask him under oath if he had completed chores at home. . . . Since then, the 50-year-old Nevada district judge has been locked out of her Las Vegas courtroom, suspended from the bench and brought up on judicial-misconduct charges that include not only misusing her position and treating her staff like personal valets, but also tainting juries and falling asleep on the bench. . . . Nevada's judicial discipline commission is preparing for a week of open hearings next month that could put an end to Halverson's career. . . . Many lawyers are unwilling to talk publicly about the case because of the powerful figures involved, but expect the proceedings to be entertaining, to say the least.

NEW JERSEY

Judges swap jurisdictions

By Tom Howell Jr.

5-14-08 -- Judicial posts at Superior Court in Sussex County experienced a fruitbasket upset of sorts this week, altering the face of the court even before the Sussex-Morris Vicinage releases new judicial assignments this summer. . . . Judge Thomas J. Critchley, who until last week presided over special civil cases in Newton, returned to Morristown to handle cases in the family court, court administrator Michael Arnold said. . . . He was replaced by Judge David H. Ironson, who will preside in Newton until June 30 pending a vicinage-wide assignment order from Assignment Judge B. Theodore Bozonelis. . . . The annual order reorganizes judges in the vicinage and allows them to gain experience in all aspects of the law. Assignment judges can re-arrange the judges' posts and location with supplemental orders during the year. . . . Arnold said the Critchley-Ironson swap was approved by Bozonelis, but said he is "not sure exactly why it took place." . . . The swap highlighted career-related links between the Sussex and Morris prosecutors' offices and the state judiciary.

NEW YORK

N.Y. Court Rejects Order for Foster Child's Sex-Change Surgery

Appellate court finds family court's authority over city children's services agency limited

Noeleen G. Walder, New York Law Journal

5-14-08 -- A family court does not have the authority to compel New York City's Administration for Children's Services to pay for a foster child's sex-change operation, an appellate court has ruled. . . . In an unsigned, unanimous opinion, the Appellate Division, 1st Department, held in In re Brian L., 1407, that while Social Services Law §398(6)(c) requires the agency to provide "necessary medical and surgical care" to all children under its aegis, regardless of whether or not they receive Medicaid, Family Court does not have the power to order that a child receive certain care. . . . "[S]ince such an order would denigrate from ACS' statutory authority," the panel reversed a 2007 Family Court order directing that Brian L. receive the sex reassignment surgery that two medical doctors, along with mental health professionals, had deemed medically necessary. . . . Brian L., also known as Mariah L., was born a biological male but was diagnosed with "gender identity disorder" as a teen. . . . According to the opinion, the America Psychiatric Association defines the disorder as "a disjunction between an individual's sexual organs and sexual identity."

Recusals Could Lead to Discipline, N.Y. Judicial Conduct Commission Warns

Commission also backs efforts to win raise for judges

Daniel Wise, New York Law Journal

5-14-08 -- The New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct Monday warned the state's 1,300 judges that using recusals to protest legislative inaction on a pay raise could result in disciplinary action. . . . The commission's statement cited 10 different sections of the Rules Governing Judicial Conduct that could be implicated when judges refuse to handle cases where parties are represented by lawmakers or their law firms. . . . The warning was issued despite what the commission called "the judiciary's understandable disappointment at the continuing compensation impasse." . . . The agency also endorsed a pay raise for the judges as "well deserved and long overdue." The statement was adopted by the commission at its monthly meeting last week. . . . The warning reinforced a similar caution issued earlier this month by Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye.

Recuse or Lose

By Scott H. Greenfield

5-14-08 -- Various governmental leaders have been telling the judges in the State of New York who have gone a decade without a raise that they should uphold the dignity of their offices. That's rich. . . . While Chief Judge Judy Kaye cajoles the judges she considers to be under her care and feeding to maintain the dignity of their office, they are busily eating Spam during the luncheon recess. The rank and file are quietly realizing that if they don't stand up for themselves, and perhaps take a hit, the best they can hope for is "pie in the sky when they die." Some have no plans on dying anytime soon. . . . Judge Kaye likes to send memos to the troops. It helps to keep their morale up, or so she's been told. Somebody has been whispering in her ear that any active measures taken by judges to pay back the legislators will not be viewed kindly. Some prefer to recuse themselves whenever Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silvers’s firm, Weitz & Luxembourg, is involved. Others want nothing to do with a state claim. Still others just aren’t in the mood to work as hard as they used to. . . . Maybe it’s not hardcore payback. Just small change, but enough to show that you will not go quietly into the night. Judge Kaye wants to be kind to legislators. She's a kind person. Legislators, however, are not always kind. So far, they haven’t been kind at all. . . . Kaye sent a message to potentially wayward judges: “Our many friends and supporters tell us quite frankly, that we reduce our effectiveness and weaken our cause when we publicly engage in conduct that is perceived as retaliatory, such as denigrating public officials and using recusal as a strategy rather than as a matter of individual conscience.”

In Reversal Report (click here), an ADA wrongly testified in his own case.

OHIO

Judge's actions should be considered criminal, counsel says

Brandy Chandler, Brown News Service

5-14-08 -- The relator in the disciplinary case against Highland County Common Pleas Court Judge Jeffrey Hoskins has filed answers to respondent’s objections to the board of commissioners’ report and recommendations. . . . The answers, filed Monday with the clerk of courts for the Supreme Court of Ohio, regarding Hoskins’ objections filed in response to a report filed in February by the Board of Commissioners on Grievances and Discipline (the board) regarding an ethics hearing held Oct. 29 through Nov. 2 regarding a nine-count ethics complaint filed against Hoskins by the disciplinary counsel for the Ohio Supreme Court Office of Disciplinary Counsel, Jonathan E. Coughlan (relator). . . . Coughlan’s answers can be read in their entirety at www.timesgazette.com. The case is scheduled for oral arguments before the Supreme Court of Ohio on May 20 at 9 a.m. “Based upon the clear and convincing evidence of misconduct presented at the five-day hearing in this matter, the board determined that respondent committed 26 violations of the Canons of the Code of Judicial Conduct and 20 violations of the Disciplinary Rules of the Code of Professional Responsibility,” Coughlan said in the answer. . . . “The board recommended that respondent (Hoskins) be disbarred.” . . . The board found there was misconduct in each of the nine counts submitted by the disciplinary counsel, except for count 9, regarding Hoskins’ application for a federal judgeship. In the answers, Coughlan outlined the remaining eight counts and gave examples of comparable cases.

PENNSYLVANIA

Juvie court critic says judge skips key part of procedures

By Michael R. Sisak, Staff Writer

5-14-08 -- Luzerne County President Judge Mark Ciavarella sentenced juvenile offenders with such expediency and ferocity, he skipped past a critical component of the Rules of Juvenile Court Procedure, a critic of the county’s juvenile court system said. . . . Ciavarella, who presides over nearly all of the juvenile cases in the county, limited each sentencing hearing to about 90 seconds and did not read an on-the-record colloquy required whenever a young defendant waives his or her right to an attorney, Leval Miller-Wilson, an attorney with the Juvenile Law Center, a Philadelphia-based advocacy group said. . . . The Juvenile Law Center filed a petition with the state Supreme Court last week requesting emergency intervention after what it said was a disproportionate number of juvenile offenders appearing in Luzerne County court without legal representation. . . . The State Department of Public Welfare submitted an amicus brief on Monday supporting the group’s filing. . . . According to the Juvenile Law Center, Luzerne County is “the most egregious” county in the state when it comes to violating children’s constitutional rights. . . . About 50 percent of juveniles appeared without counsel in Luzerne County Juvenile Court in 2005 and 2006, which is nearly 10 times the state average for waiver of counsel, the petition said. . . . Almost 60 percent of delinquency dispositions for Luzerne County youth without counsel resulted in out-of-home punishments.

SOUTH CAROLINA

SC Supreme Court reprimands retired judge

5-13-08 -- The state Supreme Court has reprimanded a retired Spartanburg judge, saying he used a racial slur and suggested a clerk have sex with another magistrate and secretly tape it to use as blackmail. . . . The justices yesterday agreed with the findings of the state Commission on Judicial Conduct and banned Larry Hutchins from seeking another job as a judge in the state without the Supreme Court's permission. . . . Hutchins' lawyer, Rauch Wise, disagreed with the ruling, saying several witnesses contradicted one another.

TENNESSEE

Judge faces complaints

Cocke official accused of several counts of judicial misconduct

By J.J. Stambaugh

5-14-08 -- A longtime Cocke County judge has been charged with several counts of judicial misconduct by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary and will not hear criminal cases until the allegations against him are resolved. . . . The charges leveled against General Sessions Court Judge John A. Bell were filed after a state investigation into Bell's relationship with East Tennessee Probation Inc., a private probation company incorporated by his brother-in-law, Tommy Large. . . . If Bell is convicted of the charges against him, he could face "a whole range of sanctions ranging from a private reprimand to actually recommending impeachment or removal from office," said Sue Allison, a spokeswoman for the Administrative Office of the Courts. . . . Bell, who was first elected in 1998, said he is innocent of any wrongdoing. . . . "I have followed the law, and I have done nothing unethical or improper in this matter," Bell said. "I cannot and will not discuss any specifics at this time. However, I can assure you that I will fully respond to the complaint and file a very detailed answer. … I believe the facts and the law clearly support my position. I believe I have properly followed the law."

Related document

Charges against Cocke County General Sessions Court Judge John A. Bell

TEXAS

Judge: 17-year-old truants not told they had right to counsel

By Tommy Witherspoon, Tribune-Herald staff writer

5-14-08 -- If you were a 17-year-old truant jailed for contempt of court by McLennan County Precinct 7 Justice of the Peace Jean Laster in the past nine years, by her own admission your civil rights were violated. . . . Laster told McLennan County commissioners Tuesday that she feared she might be admonished by the State Commission on Judicial Conduct, like a Grayson County justice of the peace recently was, for not telling 17-year-old truants that they had a right to legal counsel before being sent to jail. . . . Judge Gregory Middents, of Sherman, Texas, was given a public admonition in February and ordered to take additional training on serving as a justice of the peace after the commission found he had not informed a 17-year-old of her right to counsel before she was sent to jail, and for other issues. . . . Laster asked for the local matter to be placed on the commissioners’ court agenda to seek clarification about whether her office has access to funds for court-appointed attorneys should a repeat truancy defendant ask for one. . . . McLennan County Judge Jim Lewis told Laster that the county has budgeted “a big pot of money” for court-appointed attorneys. That includes funds for truants in justice court who are eligible for court-appointed attorneys.

State dismisses conduct complaint against judge

5-14-08 -- A complaint lodged against a local judge last year has been dismissed by the state Commission on Judicial Conduct, his attorney said Tuesday. . . . The commission found there was "insufficient evidence" to support allegations that state District Judge Woody Densen violated the Texas Code of Judicial Conduct. . . . The Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association filed the grievance last fall, alleging Densen threatened to arrest a defendant for not having enough money to hire a lawyer. . . . The complaint also claimed Densen accepted a guilty plea from another defendant whose lawyer was not present and jailed a woman who appeared in court without counsel after she fired her attorney.

VERMONT

Side judge gets six-month suspension for ethics violations

By Susan Smallheer Herald Staff

5-14-08 -- Longtime Windsor County Side Judge William Boardman of Woodstock has been suspended for six months from his judicial duties by the Judicial Conduct Board, citing recurring unprofessional and unethical behavior. . . . Boardman was also ordered to resign his seat on the Emerge board, a nonprofit organization in White River Junction. . . . It was his role with Emerge, which rented and then bought the former headquarters of the Windsor County Sheriff's Department from the county at a reduced price, that prompted the sanctions against Boardman. . . . Emerge got special treatment from Boardman, getting the building at a reduced rate with several debts cancelled, according to the board. . . . The property at one time was listed for sale at $189,000, but Emerge ended up paying $71,000 for it in October. . . . Boardman's role with Emerge violated several codes of conduct for judges, the board ruled, as well as "conflicting fiduciary duties."

WEST VIRGINIA

What I Did on My Summer Vacation . . . :
Top Judge Out Over Getaway Photos

New York Lawyer, By Lawrence Messina, The Associated Press

5-14-08 -- West Virginia's top judge will be out a job after a conflict-of-interest scandal involving an exotic vacation with a coal company boss derailed his bid for another term. . . . Chief Justice Elliott "Spike" Maynard finished third in a field of four candidates in the state's Democratic primary Tuesday, following an uproar that began in January when photos surfaced showing him vacationing in Europe with the chief executive of Richmond, Va.-based Massey Energy Co. The company had cases before the court. . . . "The voters have spoken and it appears we've lost the race," Maynard said. "I want to thank the people of West Virginia for allowing me the great privilege and honor of serving them as a judge and justice for nearly 28 years." . . . The Democratic justice had raised the most money in a race where he was once considered a shoo-in. Maynard, 65, lost to former Justice Margaret Workman and Huntington lawyer Menis Ketchum. They will face Charleston lawyer Beth Walker, the only Republican to file, in the fall for the two open seats on the state's highest court. . . . The photos showed Maynard on a 2006 Monaco vacation with Massey chief executive Don Blankenship. At the time, the nation's fourth-largest coal producer by revenue had cases either pending with or heading to the court on appeal.

May 10 - May 12, 2008

FEDERAL COURTS

In U.S. appeals courts, Reagan's influence endures

Conservative appointees now a dominant force in the law

By Joan Biskupic, USA TODAY

5-11-08 -- They became the first judges in more than a half-century to say the Second Amendment protects an individual's right to own guns. They took the lead in ruling against affirmative action and other race-conscious policies. And they upheld bans on an abortion procedure called "partial birth" before it reached the Supreme Court. . . . They are prominent appeals court judges appointed by President Reagan in the 1980s — the products of an unprecedented, meticulous and often controversial screening process that transformed the politics of judicial nominations. . . . Named to an influential set of 13 regional courts, they were, as a group, young, brainy and bold. They became the legal vanguard of the Reagan agenda to lessen federal control — and protections — in American life. . . . Now, nearly 20 years after Reagan left office, many of them are at the height of their power. Their opinions routinely draw national attention. Eight are the chief judges of their circuit courts and in key positions on the U.S. judiciary's policymaking committee. Many are superstars of the conservative movement, appearing as speakers at meetings of the arch-conservative Federalist Society and, in past years, landing on Republican presidents' short lists for Supreme Court appointments.

Judges are Beyond the Reach of the Law

Grant Langdon

5-12-08 -- Federal District Judge Howard G. Munson knew an investigation by the Sheriff established a badly burned man burned down my third barn. He knew the Sheriff, after his investigation, forced a confession from my son without giving him his Miranda Rights in a forceful interrogation riddled with illegalities. Yet here was Judge Munson ruling the arrest of my son was proper. All this and my son had not uttered one word in his defense nor would Judge Munson allow him to speak. He just denied a hearing where my son could tell his side of the story, and more importantly the Sheriff would have to take the stand too. By making his ruling final Judge Munson prevented an affidavit in opposition to the summary judgment motion from being introduced. An appeal would be dismissed because no opposition was presented. No damages could be recovered, but what was worse was my son appeared to be the serial arsonist as the fires continued. My son and partner was forced from town and I lost the 380 acre farm on the Courthouse steps for pennies on the dollar.

That is why I filed a complaint against Judge Munson with the Chief Judge of the 2nd circuit in New York. I soon found the same problems with the procedure that Justice Steven Breyer found in his extensive study of the Judicial Conduct and Disability Act of 1980. An investigation is seldom done because the Chief Judge is reluctant to act against another Judge or to spend his court’s funds on an investigation. New rules took effect on April 10, 2008 that improves things somewhat, but I do not think they have solved the problem of Crooked Judges in the Federal system. The new rules still put judges in charges of judging fellow judges. What is needed is a mandatory investigation of judges by the Inspector General of the Department of Justice.

GENERAL

Vote for Justice
John McCain gets on Right record.

By Kathryn Jean Lopez, United Media

5-10-08 -- Anyone who follows political and cultural news knows elections matter. John McCain drove this point home last week in his speech about the judiciary. . . . Speaking at Wake Forest University, the Arizona Republican senator chided judges for blurring the lines between the branches of government; for disrupting the balance our Founders wisely drew up in their constitutional blueprint for our republic. . . . “In the shorthand of constitutional discourse, these abuses by the courts fall under the heading of ‘judicial activism,’ ” McCain said. But, he continued, “real activists seek to make their case democratically — to win hearts, minds, and majorities to their cause. Such people throughout our history have often shown great idealism and done great good. By contrast, activist lawyers and activist judges follow a different method. They want to be spared the inconvenience of campaigns, elections, legislative votes, and all of that. They don’t seek to win debates on the merits of their argument; they seek to shut down debates by order of the court.” . . . And, as a campaign boost, McCain couldn’t have better enemies in this battle against judicial usurpation of American democracy. Howard Dean, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, has railed against McCain’s “radical right-wing judicial philosophy.” This should be music to the McCain campaign’s ears. In fact, they should play it as a campaign song when meeting with conservatives, many who still need to be convinced they have a stake in supporting his candidacy.

Standing for Change in the Courts? Good Luck.

In the Loop -- By Al Kamen

5-9-08 -- Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) made it clear this week that he's just itching to get into the Oval Office to end "the common and systematic abuse of our federal courts" by out-of-control, wackadoodle, ACLU-loving judges. . . . But that mission's going to be harder than he thinks. When he (or Sen. Barack Obama, his soon-to-be opponent) takes office in January, a very small number of judicial opportunities will be awaiting. According to the U.S. Federal Judicial Center, there are only 13 vacancies on the 179-member federal courts of appeal and only 35 openings among the 674 district or trial judges. . . . The number of openings may increase by Inauguration Day -- a few seats are vacated each month -- but they could be offset if the Democratic-controlled Senate is persuaded to fill a few appellate seats and perhaps as many as 10 district court seats. Hard to imagine they're going to do more, given the constant bitterness between the parties over judges. . . . Contrast those paltry numbers with what the Republican-controlled Senate left for President Bush. Shortly after he took the oath in 2001, there were about 30 appeals court vacancies and about 55 district court seats to fill. . . . The next president will find the federal bench solidly controlled by the GOP, with about 100 Republicans in appeals court seats, compared with approximately 66 Democrats. Republicans have a 56 percent majority at the trial court level.

CONNECTICUT

Is constitutional amendment only way state can ensure open government?

By Morgan McGinley

5-10-08 -- What will it take to force the judicial department to conform fully with the concept of open government? State Rep. Michael P. Lawlor, co-chairman of the legislature's Judiciary Committee, suggests that a constitutional amendment may be the ultimate solution, a scenario that had little support when newspaper and television editors of Connecticut proposed it several years ago. . . . But now that the judges have again thwarted a legislative effort to impose rules on them by statute, the notion of a constitutional approach may make sense. . . . Chris Powell, managing editor of the Journal Inquirer in Manchester, long has advocated a constitutional amendment because he believes that any law coming out of the legislature would be vulnerable to the courts' overturning the statute. Judges can interpret statutes any way they wish, he argues, but a constitutional amendment could carry the day for the public's right to know how the courts are operating.

FLORIDA

Watchdog group monitors courts to ensure fair proceedings

Bianca Prieto | Sentinel Staff Writer

5-12-08 -- Dawn Streeter couldn't get her neighbor to leave her alone. . . . He would stand outside of her home and workplace, she said, and began telling people the two were getting married -- charges he denied. But because he never abused her and wasn't her boyfriend, domestic violence advocates in Orlando couldn't help. It wasn't until she went before a judge for the third time that she was granted a restraining order. . . . A member of CourtWatch was present in the courtroom that day, and Streeter, 40, believes that simple act was why she was finally granted the protection order, known as an injunction. . . . CourtWatch, an impartial volunteer group, began monitoring domestic violence and sexual assault cases in Orange and Seminole counties a year ago. The group believes having a presence in the courtroom helps ensure the judicial system doesn't re-victimize victims and is holding the right people accountable.

Florida's Judge Cliff Barnes enters the Hot Seat

Judge Barnes is being persecuted for speaking on behalf of
"The People"

MASSACHUSETTS

Massachusetts Federal Judge dismisses homeowners RICO cases without legal basis

Judge Young again plays favorites with Influential lawyers and colleagues, who benefited from the distribution of stolen funds

By Massachusetts Homeowners News

5-11-08 -- The Story behind Federal Civil RICO Claim number 06-11936-WGY . . . In September 2004, using fraudulently procured court orders, an influential lawyer of Beverly Massachusetts instructed several financial institutions to liquidate and give him over $500,000 from bank accounts belonging to three private individuals. . . . When the owners of the funds complained to the courts and law enforcement authorities about the theft, the lawyer procured yet another court order which forbids his victims to undertake any attempts to recover their money. . . . The victims, determined to recover their money despite the existence of the bizarre order obstructing their access to courts, asked the U.S. District Court in Boston to allow them to pursue a civil RICO claim against the influential lawyer and a dozen of his equally influential colleagues, all of whom benefited from or participated in the distribution of the stolen funds. . . . The civil RICO claim assigned to Judge Douglas P. Woodlock seemed to be going forward until Judge William G. Young took over the case and promptly dismissed it in violation of law and rules of civil procedure on January 8, 2007. . . . Nine months later, Judge Young (apparently mindful of the fact that he is notorious for being regularly overturned by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit) changed his mind and reinstated the case only to dismiss it again in January 2008, again in violation of law and rules of civil procedure. . . . On May 4, 2008, FOX25 aired a piece entitled Are Judges Playing Favorites? about Judge Young's oddly discrepant rulings in two criminal cases, one of which involved a lawyer-defendant Morris Golding, who stole over $18,000,000 from his victims, yet was ostentatiously favored by Judge Young's ruling. . . . While Judge Young's favorite pastime on the federal bench appears to be playing favorites to his fellow lawyers, the influential lawyer of Beverly Massachusetts and a dozen of his influential colleagues, who already spent the entire $500,000 stolen in 2004, are now trying to put their han