A piece of general advice for judges, lawyers, presidential candidates, and almost everyone else: avoid using the terms "you people" and "that one." They tend to raise hackles. And get you removed from the bench.

From Courthouse News Service:

The North Carolina Supreme Court removed Judge Mark H. Badgett from the bench after he ordered a Hispanic man accused of domestic violence to pay child support when none was requested, saying "you people always find a way," and, "I don't know how you treat women in Mexico, but here you don't treat them that way."

After defendant Floyd Mandez Carreon objected, Badgett ordered a deputy clerk to take Carreon's wallet from his pocket, hand over $140 in cash to Kathy Mendez Carreon, and let her take down Floyd's Social Security number.

Ordering a deputy clerk to rob a defendant isn't kosher? Another "whoops" moment after the jump.

The MacArthur Foundation is known for its genius grants-- a.k.a. "Out of the blue--$500,000-- no strings attached"-- that are given to 20 to 40 individuals each year in recognition of incredible creativity and originality.

Last year, the Foundation started giving out a new award: the international justice award for individuals and organizations that have "been transformative forces in the fields of human rights and international justice." Diplomat, economist and former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan was the inaugural recipient. Great guy and all, but not an attorney.

We're happy to report that an actual lawyer has received the award this year. Congratulations to Justice Richard Goldstone, of South Africa. He gets $100,000 and can recommend non-profit recipients for an additional $500,000.

The MacArthur Foundation's announcement says Goldstone has received the award for his work as chief prosecutor of the tribunals for Rwanda and the former Yugoslavia, "the first of their kind since Nazi war criminals were tried at Nuremberg following World War II." He focused on prosecuting top political and military perpetrators and filed genocide and crimes against humanity charges against Bosnian Serb leaders Radovan Karadzic and Ratko Mladic in 1995.

"Since the early 1990s, we have witnessed the emergence of a system of international justice that is growing stronger with each new case tried in a regional court or UN tribunal and with each investigation opened by the International Criminal Court. It has given me tremendous pride and satisfaction to have played a role in ensuring that the perpetrators of mass atrocities have more reason today than ever to fear being brought to justice," said Goldstone.

Goldstone is no stranger to the U.S. He has taught international law at Harvard, NYU, and Fordham.

See, international law is not completely worthless. It may be worth less than a year in Biglaw, but still...

Justice Richard Goldstone to Receive MacArthur Award for International Justice [MacArthur Foundation Press Release]

Just a reminder from the Judicial Code of Conduct: "a judge should refrain from political activity." And clerks too. Duh, right?

Well, Utah's chief federal judge seems to have "forgotten" about canon 7 in her excitement about Obama. From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Judge Tena Campbell, a President Clinton appointee, donated $100 to the Democratic candidate on Aug. 28, 2007, according to campaign disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission.

The disclosure lists Campbell's profession as "lawyer" and her employer the "govtt." The address listed on the contribution is Campbell's court chambers.

Sneaky. But not sneaky enough.

It wasn't her only donation. Campbell contributed multiple times for a total of $300, but only her last donation was made public. Campaigns are not required to release the names of contributors until they donate more than $200.

Whoops.

Obama's campaign returned the 300 bucks. Nominated to the federal bench by Clinton in 1995, Campbell is Utah's first female district judge.

Being a Democrat in Utah must be a lonely endeavor. At least she has husband, fellow lawyer and "Missing Witness" author, Gordon Campbell, to keep her company.

Utah judge breaks rule with Obama donation [The Salt Lake Tribune]

Florida judges are starting to get a rep for misbehavin' here at ATL, from smoking pot in the park to insensitivity on the bench. Now we have two Miami-Dade Circuit judges succumbing to fax machine rage.

From the Miami Herald:

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Maria Espinosa Dennis says she was battered at the courthouse -- by fellow Circuit Judge David Miller. She says Miller was bent out of shape because the fax machine at her office, which his staff sometimes used, was broken.

Dennis, 52, and Miller, 54, both work at 73 W. Flagler St. They had adjacent offices on the fourth floor. Miller initially spoke to Dennis' bailiff and judicial assistant about the fax machine, then asked to see her.

When she repeated that the machine was out of order, Miller became ''confrontational and told [Dennis] that he felt that he wasn't getting the full story,'' the Oct. 7 police report says. Miller then ``charged toward [Dennis], grabbed her by her shoulders and pushed her toward her office in an attempt to close the door behind them.''

The courthouse police came after someone hit a panic alarm. Judge Miller is not the first Florida judge to bully a female colleague. See former Judge of the Day Jay Spechler.

But that's a pretty extreme reaction to a broken fax machine. We're wondering what the "full story" might have been. Did Miller suspect that Dennis "office-spaced" it?

Yet another reason to e-mail rather than fax.

Miami-Dade judge: I was battered by a colleague [Miami Herald]

Chief Judge Edward Nottingham is a familiar figure for long-time ATL readers. The Colorado federal judge has starred in past posts such as "Chief Judge Nottingham: Putting the 'Ho' in Your Honor?" and "Chief Judge Nottingham Likes Strippers; Handicapped People, Not So Much."

A quick recap of "Naughty" Nottingham's misadventures: being too drunk to remember how he spent $3,000 at strip clubs over two days, calling 911 on a paralyzed lawyer in a wheelchair after she confronted him for parking in a handicapped space, and having his name show up on a list of clients of a Denver prostitution business.

Well, he's back in the news, folks, and though we've retired him from Judge of the Day, we've decided to give him a nod at the request of many tipsters. The Department of Justice has launched an investigation of "Naughty" for asking a prostitute to lie on his behalf. He wanted her to say they met at a restaurant in Denver and went out a few times and that they were only "good friends."

From Colorado's 9news.com:

The woman claims she had sex with Judge Nottingham for $250 to $300 an hour once a week from February 2003 through November 2004 at the former escort agency Bada Bing of Denver....

[T]he former prostitute says Judge Nottingham asked her to help fabricate a story to tell investigators.

"We just decided to agree that we met at a bar. I don't remember which one. We decided to say that we just, over the years, had become friends and on occasion would go out on dates," the woman told 9Wants to Know. "The truth is that I met him when I was an escort for an escort service and he did visit me regularly and he did pay to be with me."

"It just seems ridiculous that someone in his position would ask someone to lie," the former prostitute said. "He's there to uphold the law and he's breaking it."

Such a sweet sentiment. Obviously, this former prostitute is not a regular reader of our Judge of the Day feature.

Several newspapers have reported that Nottingham is expected to resign any minute now. But as of Monday at noon, the Colorado District Court's Clerk Office had not heard anything from him.

Government investigating allegations against Nottingham [9news.com]

Earlier: Previous ATL Coverage of Edward Nottingham

A Florida juvenile court judge is embroiled in a scandal we don't quite understand. Judge Douglas J. Chumbley resigned yesterday, according to the Miami Herald.

Here's the puzzling reason why:

Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Douglas J. Chumbley resigned Thursday after he was accused of exposing his genitalia in a Starbucks bathroom stall at the University of Miami.

Isn't exposing your genitalia the natural thing to do in a bathroom stall?

There must be some piece missing in this puzzle as Chumbley, 51, is stepping down and will not fight the misdemeanor charge for indecent exposure.

Accused of indecent exposure, Miami-Dade judge resigns [Miami Herald]

This county judge in Ohio is being honored with ATL Judge of the Day for her creative sentencing. Judge Susan Fornof-Lippencott sentenced a local man to... gasp, the horror, the horror... Beethoven!

From the Associated Press:

Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.

Vactor, 24, lasted only about 15 minutes, a probation officer said.

Vactor may not have been a fan of the classical tunes, but Nas appreciates Für Elise along with you, Judge Fornof-Lippencott.

Despite the classical sentence, she's not too terribly high-brow. According to her bio, Judge Bach-inator is a farmer and participates in "West-Liberty Salem High School Mock Trials." And Men's News Daily reports that she has sentenced other offenders to episodes of Oprah and Dr. Phil. Now that's harsh!

Judge sentences rap fan to Bach, Beethoven [Associated Press]
Rap music fan sentenced to Beethoven, pays fine instead [Men's News Daily]

When it comes to the television bench, the great state of Florida seems to be the feeder court. See the list of Floridian judges turned TV judges at the end of this post.

But Florida doesn't have a monopoly on television jurists. From the Fulton County Daily Report:

Writing that "God has called me to a higher place," Fulton County State Court Judge Penny Brown Reynolds on Monday notified Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue that she would resign, effective Oct. 22, to embark on her new career as a television judge on "Family Court with Judge Penny."

Because the television bench is certainly a "higher place" than the real thing. Higher-paying, at least -- and God wants us all to be rich.

In her letter to Perdue, Reynolds said she leaves with a legacy that "includes a current case docket, never having been reversed by an appellate court on any criminal matter and only reversed in a few civil matters."

That's an impressive record for a judge who was appointed to the bench back in 2000. Georgia's loss is the boob tube's gain. We wish Judge Reynolds the best in her new role.

Judge to Resign Next Month for TV Gig [Fulton County Daily Report via Law.com]

New York judge Ronald Tills is the guy you want in charge of your bachelor party. You might think he's out of touch at 73 years old, but he still knows where to find the ladies. Unfortunately, they're the kind you have to pay for.

Tills pleaded guilty last week to violating the Mann Act by bringing a prostitute across a state line. Among his other prostitute-related offenses, as reported by the Buffalo News:

He was responsible for recruiting out-of-state prostitutes to work a Jesters meeting in Dunkirk "in or about September 2001," while serving as director of the Buffalo chapter of the Jesters.

He recruited an illegal alien prostitute from a North Tonawanda massage parlor to service men at a Jesters event in Kentucky in October 2005.

He arranged for transporting prostitutes from Buffalo Niagara International Airport to a national Jesters meeting in Niagara Falls, Ont., in the spring of 2006.

A retired acting New York Supreme Court justice and Court of Claims judge, Tills must have been known as the "Grand Poobah of Prostitute Procurement" to the Royal Order of Jesters.

According to the Jesters website, it's a Masonic organization descended from the Shriners, but it's not into charity like most Masonic groups. It has "a fun 'degree', with absolutely no serious intent." Just the serious intent to get busy with prostitutes.

Former judge Tills faces likely prison term after admitting he recruited prostitutes [Buffalo News]
Former Judge Pleads Guilty to Transporting Prostitute Across State Lines [New York Law Journal]
Surely You Jest: Former New York Judge Admits to Violating Mann Act [WSJ Law Blog]

The end of this tale is tragic and grim, but we'll focus on the salacious over the sad. From the Telegraph:

James Muir-Little, 45, a deputy district judge, resigned his post before the outcome of disciplinary proceedings against him. He had cheated on his own wife with Joanne Hall, 31, a cardiac nurse, after meeting her through and internet website for swingers.

They exchanged naked pictures and sexual fantasies by email before twice meeting for sex at hotels. In one email Mrs Hall promised to be a "dirty little slut" for the judge.

Not to be confused with clean big sluts. Or Nazis German prison workers. They're popular on the other side of the pond.

The tragic part is that when Joanne Hall's husband, Gavin Hall, learned of her infidelity, he killed their three-year-old daughter in revenge.

But let's not dwell on that. More details about the swinger judge, after the jump.

Back in 2007, Judge Ernest B. Murphy won his libel case case against the Boston Herald. The Herald had reported that Murphy was soft on crime and, well, nobody puts Baby in the corner.

But winning just wasn't enough for Judge Murphy. After he won he sent two threatening letters to Patrick Purcell, publisher of the Herald, on court stationery. The letters, which included the use of all-caps as pioneered by Chief Justice John Marshall, demanded that the Herald drop its appeal and hand deliver a check for half a million dollars more than the judgment, plus interest.

According to the Boston Globe, "Purcell testified that the letters were intimidating and looked like ransom notes."

Yesterday, Murphy agreed to resign. Murphy claimed to have post-traumatic stress from his battle with the Herald. The Commission on Judicial Conduct had recommended a $25,000 fine, but they may amend their report in light of Murphy's resignation.

We'd make a joke about how a judge could incur psychologically destructive stress from participating in a lawsuit, but we're terrified that Murphy will sue us under the ADA.

Judge who sued Herald agrees to leave bench [Boston Globe via WSJ Law Blog]

Earlier: Murphy v. Boston Herald: Some Beantown Benchslappery

Alabama state court judges: they love themselves some Ten Commandments.

Just like Roy Moore, former chief justice of Alabama, Judge Ashley McKathan thinks the "higher law" has a place in the courtroom. Four years ago, the county circuit court judge had the Ten Commandments embroidered on his judicial robe. Presumably it's a silent reminder, to himself and to those in his courtroom, of the Really Big Judge upstairs.

Now he's in trouble with the American Civil Liberties Union for invoking the Big Judge in the courtroom again -- this time out loud. The ACLU has filed a complaint against him with the Judicial Inquiry Commission for violating ethics rules and the U.S. Constitution. From CNN:

The ACLU complaint said McKathan dropped to his knees and prayed aloud during a court hearing in February. He told the 100 people in the courtroom that he was not afraid to call on the name of Jesus Christ, witnesses said, and ordered all to join hands and pray, according to the complaint filed soon after the hearing....

In response to the complaint, McKathan told the Mobile Press-Register for a story Thursday: "Whatever comes of all that, I'll continue to have peace." Quoting Romans in the King James version of the Bible, the judge added: "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to his purpose."

Amen.

Complaint against judge praying in court [CNN]

Last November, we named New Mexico Court of Appeals Judge Ira Robinson our Judge of the Day. Judge Robinson, then 65, successfully fought off a knife-wielding mugger.

Judge Robinson successfully dodged the mugger's blows, but was less successful at avoiding ethics charges. From the Albuquerque Journal:

State Appeals Court Judge Ira Robinson has apparently agreed to retire from the bench in a disciplinary case, bringing a possible close to a government and political career that has spanned 40 years and included serving as district attorney and school board president in Albuquerque.

The New Mexico Judicial Standards Commission on Wednesday filed a petition with the state Supreme Court asking the justices to approve an agreement between Robinson and the commission.

What was the case about? Read more, below the fold.

Judge Deborah Riga has problems (in addition to the fact that she shares her last name with the capital of Latvia). From the AP:

A former Schererville town judge was sentenced to 15 months in federal prison Thursday for pocketing thousands of dollars from her court driving school program.

Judge Philip Simon also ordered during a hearing in U.S. District Court in Hammond that Deborah Riga pay the Town of Schererville and the state about $12,000 in restitution....

She said she took control of the court's Crossroads counseling program and driving school and set up a bank account in which she secretly had an interest.

Through that, she received about $12,000 in payments from the court's defendants. She also stopped paying rent to the town for her courtroom and made the town pay court employees who should have been paid out of the Crossroads program, Riga has said.

A court with an affiliated driving school? Judges who have to pay rent for their courtrooms? State and local courts can be so darn... weird.

Read more about Judge Riga at the Indiana Law Blog. Apparently her 15-month sentence was "substantially less time than she could have received for sending more than 1,000 of her defendants into programs from which she personally profited."

Ind. Courts - More on: "Former Schererville judge to be sentenced today" [Indiana Law Blog]
Judge kept money from court program [AP]

This is a few days old -- but in light of today's tech problems, for which we again apologize, we're having one of those days. So please cut us some slack.

From an article by Julie Kay in the National Law Journal:

The Florida Bar is investigating whether newly appointed New York Court of Claims Judge O. Peter Sherwood -- the former New York solicitor general -- violated bar rules on the unlicensed practice of law by appearing in a Florida case without registering.

Jeffrey Picker, bar counsel at the Florida Bar, said Thursday that the bar is investigating a complaint made against Sherwood that he failed to register with the bar and pay a filing fee as required for out-of-state attorneys. "The file is confidential, but we can say that we are investigating," he said.

Picker did not say whether the bar was looking into the second part of the complaint, in which Miami attorney J.B. Harris alleges that Sherwood verbally abused his client and refused to reschedule a deposition even though she was recovering from surgery and heavily drugged.

Why reschedule? Depos when the client is all drugged up are the best kind. It might be interesting, when the lawyer conducting the deposition asks the boilerplate "are you under the influence" question, to have the witness answer "hell yeah" for once.

More discussion, after the jump.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Kelly MacEachern is no longer listed among the judges on the court's website, but you can still Google her bio. We suspect that only in California would a judge list "rollerblading" as her number one interest.

MacEachern was removed from office yesterday for filing "false and misleading expense claims for a legal conference in San Diego," then lying about it when she got caught. Oh, the tangled webs we weave.

The conference didn't get off to a good start for her. From the L.A. Times:

[MacEachern] tried to enroll in two classes -- "Excellence in Judging" and "Statements of Decision" -- during the weeklong San Diego conference, according to the commission.

About a week later, she was informed that she was denied entry into the "Excellence in Judging" course, held Monday through Wednesday, because she lacked the required experience of eight years or more on the bench.

Denied entry into "Excellence in Judging?" How odd.

She was, however, accepted into the one-day "Statements of Decision" class and was told the state would directly pay the Hyatt Regency for one night's stay, up to $110.

MacEachern decided to stay at the hotel for a week anyway, and included the three "unauthorized nights" in her reimbursement request. Perhaps she needed the time to rollerblade in San Diego.

In a series of e-mails with the court's travel coordinator, Rick Valadez, MacEachern reported that when she arrived at the conference, "there was a mix-up with my registration," so she "just sat in on the Judicial Excellence class on Monday." She also said she sat in on a domestic violence class Thursday.

MacEachern, confronted by Orange County Superior Court Presiding Judge Nancy Stock after an investigation by her office, conceded that she had not attended either of the classes and that her e-mail to Valadez was misleading, according to the commission. She then withdrew her claim.

"Mix-up" is a great catchall phrase that usually allows for back-pedaling. Unfortunately, it's hard to back-pedal out of trying to bill the state for your personal vacation. Oh well, more time for rollerblading!

Orange County judge is removed from bench [Los Angeles Times]

A friend who's working for the summer at the AG's office in Montgomery, AL, had the chance to work on a case in which the Alabama Court of the Judiciary removed Circuit Court Judge Stuart DuBose from the bench. From the Alabama Press-Register:

DuBose, 51, faced 60 ethics charges, stemming from a series of incidents in which the judge verbally abused attorneys and subordinates, attempted to influence fellow judges in matters of personal benefit and made statements that put his impartiality into question.

Sixty charges! And that description understates the insanity of this ex-judge's behavior. More on the alleged antics of this bizarre former jurist, after the jump.

Television jurist Judith Sheindlin, aka "Judge Judy," is one tough customer. No matter what you do, don't pee on her leg and tell her it's raining.

But it seems that there's a real-life "Judge Judy" who may be similarly difficult. From the ABA Journal:

A Seattle-area judge has been accused of routinely interrupting litigants and lawyers and addressing them in a manner that is "angry, disdainful, condescending and/or demeaning."

The state Commission on Judicial Conduct claims in a statement of charges (PDF) that Judge Judith Eiler treated lawyers and self-represented litigants in a way that is "rude, impatient, undignified and intimidating," the Tacoma News Tribune reports.

Eiler underwent behavior therapy with an emphasis on sensitivity training after she received a reprimand in 2005 for impatient and rude behavior, the story says.

It seems that Her Honor may be something of a rudeness recidivist. Is this proof that "sensitivity training" is just a big old waste of time? Or is Judge Eiler just auditioning for a TV judge gig of her own?

P.S. Compliments to the crew at Wired on their photoshop skills, which you can see by comparing the two photos at right.

Judge Who Had Sensitivity Training Is Accused Again of Rudeness [ABA Journal]
Judge on the hot seat again [Tacoma News-Tribune]
Judge: Spam Exempt From Law When Sender Names Self [Wired]
Judge Judith R. Eiler bio [King County District Court]

Congratulations to Judge G. Thomas Porteous Jr. (E.D. La.), our latest Judge of the Day. As a two-time winner (he was previously honored in here), Judge Porteous now joins the JotD Hall of Fame. Along with his fellow inductees -- Chief Judge Edward Nottingham, and Judges Samuel Kent and Elizabeth Halverson -- he is no longer eligible for recognition as a Judge of the Day, having transcended the award.

Here's why Judge Porteous is a Hall of Famer. From the New Orleans Times-Picayune:

A panel of the nation's highest judiciary found substantial evidence that U.S. District Judge Thomas Porteous committed perjury, accepted gifts from lawyers and violated other criminal and ethical standards, according to its impeachment recommendation sent to Congress.

The U.S. Judicial Conference, led by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, decided unanimously Wednesday to forward the misconduct investigation to the U.S. House of Representatives. The action could set the stage for the first Senate impeachment trial of a federal judge in 19 years.

When judges discipline themselves, they tend to go easy. If the Judicial Conference has unanimously voted to turn a matter over to Congress, you know it stinks to high heaven.

More discussion, after the jump.

A commenter recently nominated a former Georgia magistrate judge, D. William Garrett, as Judge of the Day. We gladly accept the nomination -- which was seconded by several tipsters by email, including one who requested a shout-out to David Bowie -- and crown Judge Garrett with this honor.

Some judges who are notorious for working their clerks too hard are called "slave drivers." [FN1] Judge Garrett may fit the term more literally, if the allegations are true. From today's Atlanta Journal-Constitution:

A former Fulton County magistrate judge, along with his son, a Forsyth County deputy, and his son's wife, have been indicted by a federal grand jury on human trafficking charges involving a nanny from India.

William Garrett Jr., 72, an Alpharetta lawyer; deputy sheriff Russell Garrett, 43; and Malika Garrett, 42, were charged in a nine-count indictment.

Russell and Malika Garrett, who have been married since 1993 and have two children, live in Woodstock. The couple faces charges of human trafficking, alien harboring, witness tampering and making false statements

In case you're wondering, William Garrett was a judge at the time of the alleged conduct. It appears he left the bench at the end of 2005.

More after the jump.