Chief Judge Nottingham Likes Strippers; Handicapped People, Not So Much
Remember Chief Judge Edward Nottingham (D. Colorado)? We named him our Judge of the Day back in August, after he reportedly “was too drunk to remember how he spent more than $3,000 at a strip club in two consecutive days.” We subsequently honored him as our Paulie Walnuts Doppelgänger of the Day.
We are hereby declaring Judge Nottingham ineligible for future Judge of the Day contests. Like the Honorable Elizabeth Halverson, he has transcended the competition, joining the Judge of the Day Hall of Fame.
Read about his latest misadventures, in the ABA Journal:
A Denver lawyer has filed a complaint claiming the chief judge of the Colorado federal courts threatened to call authorities when she confronted him about parking in a handicapped space.The lawyer, Jeanne Elliott, was paralyzed in 1986 when she was shot by an angry litigant. She told KUSA in Denver that she waited in her wheelchair behind the illegally parked SUV outside a Walgreens. Judge Edward Nottingham arrived and threatened to call the U.S. Marshals service when she didn’t move, according to her grievance (PDF) filed with the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. He later called 911.
More after the jump.
There appears to be some factual basis for Elliott’s grievance. In the court of public opinion, Judge Nottingham has entered his plea:
Nottingham issued a statement (PDF) that reads in part: “Judge Nottingham regrets parking in a handicapped space in his haste to pick up a prescription at a local Walgreens, but respectfully disagrees with the remainder of Ms. Elliott’s version of this incident.”
Parking in a handicapped spot, then threatening to sic the U.S. Marshals on the wheelchair-bound woman who calls you out on it? What was Chief Judge Nottingham thinking? If this is his attempt to get recused from ADA cases, surely there has to be a better way.
Perhaps this Nottingham needs a Sheriff, to protect him from his own bad judgment? That might be a better use of a U.S. Marshal than bullying a paralyzed woman.
Chief Judge Accused in Handicapped Parking Spat [ABA Journal]
Chief Colorado Federal Court Judge Hogs Handicapped Parking Spot, then Pulls Rank [Blogonaut]
Earlier: Prior coverage of Judge Edward Nottingham (scroll down)
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whos the man?
So he even ACTS like Paulie Walnuts!? That's taking it to a new level, Judge.
Hail to the Chief. Didn't you watch The Sopranos? Why so surprised? Paulie Walnuts once threw his mother's/aunt's TV out of the window; he beat a guy's leg so badly that it turned gangrenous the moment he stopped; his catch phrase might as well have been, "Come here so I can give ya a fresh smack in da mout."
Threatening to call the authorities on a handicapped woman after illegally parking in her spot is the least of Chief Walnuts' problems. Fagetaboutit!
That's exactly what he should have done. I may not like that someone has violated some law or ordinance, but who's to say I have the right to stand in their way and stop them?
that would be like me standing at the top of the metro escalator when somebody tries to get on that is smoking. i would properly deserve to be pushed down the stairs.
get out of the way!
A handicapped lawyer to boot...Time for him to institute the Costanza rule of doing the exact opposite of what he thinks he should do.
"I may not like that someone has violated some law or ordinance, but who's to say I have the right to stand in their way and stop them?"
damn right. that's why i teach my kids not to stand up for someone who is being bullied...not their problem. personally, i've refrained from stopping a purse snatcher b/c, after all, who am i to say anything? when someone lit a cigarette on the bus last week, i didn't say anything, i just held my breath...and i gave a dirty look to the person who did speak up--what a jerk!
two words: "lifetime tenure"
two words: "f--- --u"
coincidence? i think not!
It is a little funny that no matter what the bar does to him or the circuit (including taking away his license), he'll still be an Article 3 judge. If Congress steps in and impeaches him, he can always run for Congress, ala Alcee Hastings.
I would have done the same thing too. Block me in? Screw you, gimpy.
I hear he is mean to animals too.
the worst thing he did was CALL 911 because someone was blocking his car. that's not what 911 is for.
why did he threaten to call the marshals and then call 911 instead?
Did she really expect not to piss off the owner of the car she blocked in. She could have called the cops or security and avoided the mess. She
What a dick. I really wish I had been there to see this standoff.
I actually don't think P. Walnuts would park in a handicapped space. He was weirdly sympathetic.
are we sure its not the real paulie wallnuts? maybe he went into witness protection?
"[T]he real paulie wallnuts" is a much nicer human being.
As a former Denver resident, I can assure you that this is the biggest thing that's hit the town in weeks. Bigger than the Rockies, bigger than the male prostitute-evangelical preacher scandal last Spring...Denver doesn't have a lot going on, but this is frontier, Colorado-style vigilante justice at its best.
What some of y'all are forgetting is the following: and we are a 20 year plus resident of the state of CO.
1. This goes on all the time. We are mute but it still bugs us when people illegally park in the disabled spaces. We check every tag; we take photos where we live and yes we also call our sheriff (arapahoe) who picks and chooses when or if they ticket even with a photo from a digital camera with a date and time on it.
Last winter we had a huge blizzard. We caught 4 cars illegaly parked in the disabeld and fire zones and guess who else was there? Our FD was making a call in the same area where all these cars were illegally parked. Could they fit in? hardly between the cars and the bad snow removal. Did our sheriff issue any tickets even with all the witnesses from the FD; our self and others? not one. We were told later Gee it was a distator so we dont want to compound it but it gores on where we live all the time.
2. Like others have said; he sits on the `10th C where they get alot of ADA cases and where we also need to file appeals and he has a life time appouintement so what are we and others who are disabled under the ADA supposed to do?
We have a hard enough time getting accomodation at cases we file right now in the federal courts and there is alot of other discrimination going on there as well.
3. With the state of Congress right now; whats the likelyhood of him being removed??? next to none so how long do residents of the 10th C who are disabld and who need rulings in ADA cases supposed to put up with him and is he going to recuse himself from all ADA caes???
4. There is a distinct lack of respect for the disabled in CO. Many law enforcement offices wont enofrce the law no matter how many times you complain and this is true if they have nothing else to do as well. We see this all the time; all over CO.
This attorney was lucky in that this was a legal disabled space with a sign; and a ramp. not all spaces have both; some dont have either so they arent legal.
5. We have friends / relatives who are entitled to use the space and they also have bene blocked in and yes we would encourage them to also do what this attorney did.
We do it as well but its hard to do when you cant speak. Meanwhile who do you think takes advantage of that and who is to blame???
We can go on and on. it would be very nice if someone good comes out of this like the ADA finally enforces in CO since Owens ignored it for many years but we would tend to doubt that is going to happen since the BS going on in our county in CO will take a federal judge to deal with it. Oh gee maybe we will get him???
Since this was written, David Brougham admitted to an ex parte with Magistrate Schlatter in a case before Judge Nottingham but he said that was OK. We filed a mandamus petition in the S.C. 07-884, see
http://www.rightscase.com. David Brougham and Hall & Evans waived a response even though we discussed the ex parte, obstruction of court order, obstruction of justice, extortion, witness retaliation etc. and asked them to be found in default. Brougham emailed me that Lloyds was involved as a surplus insurer but the Stated of Colorado hasn't produced the required annual forms. The Lloyds insurance was sold to Colorado state employees.
Was this by David Lat or Kashmir Hill? How do you change the byline like that?