Notes on Camp: More on the Federal Judge Accused of Drug (and Whore) Use

In December 2008, then-Chief Judge Jack Camp (N.D. Ga.) gave an interesting interview to the Fulton County Daily Report. In explaining his decision to enter the semiretired state available to certain federal judges known as senior status, Judge Camp said that senior status would allow him to do some things “I really want to do, but never had a chance to do.”

Things like cocaine, marijuana, oxycodone, and a prostitute named Sherry Ann Ramos — if law enforcement allegations are to be believed, that is. (Everyone is presumed innocent until proven guilty, especially the exalted legal deities known as Article III judges, and Judge Camp’s attorney has stated that His Honor plans to plead not guilty.)

Let’s behold the hottie who may have been been the Georgia jurist’s downfall — and hear from some folks who have interacted with Judge Camp….

In prior posts (here and here), we’ve described the allegations against Judge Camp. The long and short of it is that Judge Camp allegedly paid a stripper for sex — an exotic dancer identified by Fox 5 as Sherry Ann Ramos (see right) — and that he used illegal drugs, including cocaine and marijuana, in her company. (You can see a more detailed version in the complaint (PDF) against Judge Camp, which is quite the read.)

CORRECTION: The informant was first identified by The Smoking Gun.

Judge Camp also faces federal gun charges. The FBI agents who arrested him last Friday claimed they found two illegal firearms in his vehicle. A commenter chided us for not mentioning this aspect of the allegations in our prior post:

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Lat, how could you leave out the part about the gun — that’s the crazy part. The good judge apparently followed his lady friend (unknowingly by her) to a drug pick-up. I guess she saw him and approached the car. She then saw the gun and asked about it — he said it was for protection. Honestly, why was the judge following her, and was he seriously going to use the gun? I mean, sure, I guess going to a drug deal without a gun might be a bad idea — but following your stripper girlfriend to a drug deal secretly and bringing a gun — seems fishy. All I’m saying is that there is plenty of more story here. Hopefully we get more details.

The allegation about the gun is particularly interesting because it’s consistent with what a source of ours who once worked for Judge Camp conveyed to us in an email message. Based on what he knew about Judge Camp from working with him, this tipster told us that he was shocked by the allegations, with a notable exception: “The one part that doesn’t surprise me is that he was allegedly armed. Judge Camp definitely had a thing for guns.”

This source wasn’t alone in being caught off guard by the charges. Said a commenter: “I am astounded. He’s a strong judge on a strong court. I couldn’t be more surprised.”

But not everyone was surprised. From a different commenter:

I have appeared in this guy’s courtroom. He was disrespectful in the extreme to lawyers who had double his intellect, three times his experience, and fifty times his professionalism. At the time, I thought — what an a**hole!! Talk about what comes around goes around.

This loser is a typical political hack — and I voted for his sponsor, President Reagan, twice. So this is not a left-wing attack deal. Quite transparently, this dude is a jerk, who deserves to get a heavy, heavy sentence.

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And this commenter wasn’t alone too in feeling some schadenfreude. Out of the 100+ comments — we read through them all, so you don’t have to — we were most struck by this one:

Jack Camp! When I heard the news here on the local radio station here in Atlanta I almost crashed my car! I could not believe the same “JUDGE” who sentenced me in federal court has now been arrested!

You remember me Jack Camp, I stood before you in your court room on the Friday of Memorial Day weekend 2002. I was a first time felon never been in trouble in my life at the time I was 24.

I remember your red face walking into the court room and as everybody stood the first words that came out your mouth was “I AM A FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PRISON SYSTEM!” Once I heard he words I knew for some reason I was in for it….

You sentenced me to the max gave me no self surrender & denied that I go to the boot camp program! You motherf****!!!!!!! With that said KARMA is a B*** !….

So Jack camp when your court date is set and you stand before the judge who will send you to prison just remember the words you told me “I AM FIRM BELIEVER IN THE PRISON!”

That’s just an excerpt. Read the whole thing here (it’s the newest comment on the thread, so choose the “Sort by newest first” option).

Let’s close with a funny tidbit that was shared with us over email. A tipster told us:

Judge Camp led one of the mandatory Professionalism discussion groups during Emory Law’s orientation this year — the one for the transfer students. How ironic.

But is it really ironic? After this experience, Judge Camp will know the legal profession inside out — not just as a judge, but as a client and a criminal defendant.

Maybe he can come back to Emory Law and teach legal ethics once again — this time for community service credit. If Bill Lerach can do it, why can’t Judge Camp?

Federal judge charged with buying drugs from stripper [Atlanta Journal-Constitution]
Courts Deal With Fallout of Judge’s Arrest on Drug and Gun Charges [Fulton County Daily Report]
FBI: Stripper, Drugs, Guns and Judge Don’t Mix [Associated Press]
Camp Reflects on Career in the Law [Fulton County Daily Report]
Sources ID Stripper in Judge Camp Arrest [Fox 5 – Atlanta]
Will Convicts Appeal Cases Heard by Federal Judge Accused in Stripper Drug Case? [ABA Journal]

Earlier: Did Judge Jack Camp Pay for Coke, Pot — and Sex?
Judge of the Day: Federal Judge Jack Camp Arrested on Drug Charges