Litigation

Testimony Complete in Impeachment Trial

By Peter Hardin

A special U.S. Senate impeachment panel has concluded hearing testimony in the trial of federal Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana.

The 12-member panel will deliver a report to the full Senate, and it is expected to vote on his future after the November elections, according to a Los Angeles Times article.

He is accused of accepting cash improperly and of lying during his confirmation proceedings before the Senate. The current Senate proceeding has had its colorful moments, as the LA Times report indicates:

“Witnesses told of bail bondsmen leaving a bucket of shrimp and a bottle of vodka as gifts for the judge. Another witness told of the judge receiving an envelope with $2,000 cash for his son’s wedding from a lawyer who appeared before him.”

The judge’s lead lawyer, Jonathan Turley, maintained that at most, Judge Porteous was guilty of low crimes and misdemeanors. “This is about an appearance of impropriety, and we think it is a mistake to remove judges based on that standard,” Turley said.

But Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif. and one of the House members prosecuting Judge Porteous, disagreed.
“It would make a mockery of the court system to leave him on the bench,” Schiff contended. The judge was “gaming the system” for years, he said.

An article in the New Orleans Times-Picayune said Judge Porteous’s legal team has faced “an uphill fight.”

Only seven federal judges have been removed from the bench through Senate impeachment proceedings in history.

Full post as published by The Gavel on September 22, 2010 (boomark / email).