Fifth Circuit Approves Judge Kent's Impeachment and Denies His Disability Claim

Wow. Okay.

First, the backstory. Judge Kent's going to jail for 33 months for sexual assault.

Galveston Federal District Judge Samuel Kent becomes the first federal judge in US History to be formally accused of sex crimes, and he ends up taking a plea on obstruction of justice charges on the eve of trial last February.

Sentencing was this month, and Kent got 33 months in prison for his sexual assaults on two former courthouse employees, and he must turn himself in to the authorities on or before June 15th.

That was bad enough. Then came his claims of disability.

After first denying any wrongdoing, and looking forward to his day in court, only to cop a plea, Judge Kent (through his attorney, Dick DeGuerin) next argued that he suffers from a mental health disability that justified his continued receipt of his judicial salary (as well as other benefits) -- a monthly amount I've seen ranging between $160,000 and $180,000 in various newstories. (I haven't taken the time to go research this myself, but his salary and benefits are public record.)

(Why this disability argument? Because Judge Kent isn't even 60 yet, and he's too young under the law to flat out retire and get benefits. If he doesn't qualify for a disability, he gets squat.)

Back at the ranch .... The first argument that I heard was that the disability had something to do with anxiety or depression. I wondered about that, thinking that most anyone in Judge Kent's position would be anxious and depressed ... but did this count as sufficient disability to merit the benefits?

Guess others were wondering this, too, because I then heard about a second argument. Judge Kent suffered from bipolar disorder, and this would be the basis of his request for disability benefits.

Well, now. That's interesting. It was also interesting to me how there was not any discussion of any bipolar disorder during the coverage regarding the sexually sordid allegations and subsequent charges against Judge Kent prior to the taking of the plea.

An Undiagnosed Bipolar Federal Judge on the Bench? What are the ramifications?

And, what would be the impact of a federal judge rendering substantive decisions from the bench, while suffering from an untreated bipolar condition? Wow. I could almost hear the wheels of appellate attorneys spinning ....

Fifth Circuit's Chief Justice Edith Jones Makes the Call

Well, now there seems to be an end to this road. The road has been cleared for Judge Kent's impeachment and the Fifth Circuit has shut the door on this disability business.

The answer is no. No disability benefits for Judge Samuel Kent.

Here's Chief Justice Edith Jones' letter to Defense Counsel Dick DeGuerin, where the disability benefits are formally denied.

Here's the Judicial Council for the Fifth Circuit's actual decision regarding the impeachment, signed by Chief Justice Edith Jones, if you would like to read it.


For more details, read the National Law Journal coverage of today's events by Tony Mauro.

Wow. Let's Watch What Happens At Notre Dame University This Weekend

Let's get this straight right now: I'm a Christian, but not a Catholic. And, I'm watching with great interest what will happen this weekend during the commencement exercises at Notre Dame University ... what's happening?

Read Father Frank Pavone's Explanation of the Situation

Well, I think that Fr. Frank Pavone can explain that better than I can, over in his article at Catholic.Org -- read it here -- but in a nutshell, there is a growing movement among graduating students of this Catholic University to forego attending their graduation because President Obama has been invited to give their commencement address.

And President Obama's position on abortion is in direct conflict with the pro-life position of the Catholic Church.

So, lots of students aren't going. Because of their value system. Because of what they believe. (Read their press release here.)

Applauding Integrity

And I'm glad. I think it's time to start remembering what integrity is in this country and applauding integrity when you see it.

Integrity is the adherence to one's values, even if self-sacrifice is involved (and it usually is).

It is in direct conflict with insincerity and dishonesty - things all too common in our culture today, where greed and materialism have been so acceptable.

I hope we see a lot more of it. And I think that even if you're not a believer in Christ or if you're not pro-life -- you can get behind the idea that respecting integrity is a good thing.

Commending Integrity

It's a good character trait to have, and I commend these graduating seniors for standing up for what they think is right.

We all need to do this: stand up for what we think is right, especially in times like these.

For more information, go to NDResponse.Com.

Taking a Stand

And, because I don't want to be waffling here, I'm taking a stand here, too. I do not support abortion. I think that abortion is wrong.

I'm not inviting debate. I'm not trying to convince you of my position: I am simply informing you that I have one. I've got an established value system to which I attempt to adhere at all times. I try to live with integrity.

I support these seniors in their position, not only because I agree with them on this issue, but I also agree with them that it is the right thing to do -- to not attend, rather than to go along to get along and attend, to not make waves. Good for them.

Wisconsin Allows Cops to Put GPS on Your Car and Track You: Even if You're Not a Suspect, and Without a Warrant

Hopefully, something will be done about this, but don't expect the Wisconsin judicial system to help. The state's appellate court has approved the use of GPS tracking systems by law enforcement, where the cops place GPS trackers on cars -- without a warrant, and without anyone being labeled a suspect.

In Wisconsin, apparently, the cops can track anyone, anytime - just because they want to do so. Yes, you read that right. In Wisconsin, right now, any motor vehicle on the road could have a GPS tracker on it - legally - even if the owner doesn't know it, and even if the owner is not a suspect for any crime.

What about the right to privacy? What about due process prohibitions against illegal search and seizure?

Wisconsin appeals court passes the buck to the State Legislature

The Wisconsin 4th Court of Appeals couldn't help -- they heard the case, and decided it wasn't a violation of the 4th Amendment (which prohibits illegal search and seizure). Their idea was that as long as the car went along in public places, where the cops could follow it, then there wasn't a problem - the GPS wasn't telling the cops anything more than they'd know anyway from physical surveillance.

Except that the car in question did go into private places. And, except that the placement of a devise on someone's personal property without their permission - for the purpose of watching them - is wrong, without due process.

Now, to be fair, the Wisconsin court did voice some concerns here. They wanted us to know that they didn't like what they were doing. But instead of doing something themselves, they suggested that the Wisconsin Legislature do something.

Is this it? Let's hope not.

Of course, there's a lot of brouhaha about this decision. The ACLU is arguing that this violates privacy laws, for one thing. Maybe we haven't heard the last of this. Hopefully, that Wisconsin appellate court decision can be reviewed by the state's high court (I haven't researched the scheme of things in Wisconsin's judicial system to know what court grades the papers of the 4th Court of Appeals in Madison, Wisconsin.) And, there's always federal court, you know....

This law getting this far is troubling.

Meanwhile, this is a valid law on the books. And, I think we should all be worried just because it's made it this far.

It doesn't seem like rocket science to me that it is just plain wrong for a cop to sneak up to a car and put a GPS tracker on it, just because he wants to do so. And to do so without a warrant -- which is in essence, a judge double-checking and approving the cop's desire to invade a person's right to privacy because of a valid legal interest. Plus, to do so without the person being labeled as a suspect of a crime.

What made these cops think this was okay? What made these courts let this scoot on by?

And, here in Texas -- wouldn't we just love this? What with all our gunrunning, human trafficking, and drug distribution problems down here?

Heck, why don't we just sell cars with power steering, anti-lock brakes, and a GPS tracker for the cops built right it? Oh, yeah, we do.

If you have a navigation system, like OnStar or TomTom in your car, you're already trackable now. Same goes for your smartphones. Of course, right now, the cops need a warrant to gain access to that personal information - they've got to have paperwork to tote over to the OnStar folks or the TomTom folks, to gain access to that information. But they can do it, technologically. And, with this Wisconsin precedent, it's really just a small step from needing a warrant to ... well, NOT.

Scary stuff, isn't it?

How Can Jose Baez Be Lead Lawyer in the Casey Anthony Case -- No Death Qualified Attorney Has Been On the Record Since Terry Lenamon Left

Back in January, I was flabbergasted when I learned the limited experience that Jose Baez had -- and here he was, lead counsel in the Casey Anthony case. Back then, I wondered about ineffective assistance of counsel claims (you can read that post here).

Then, today, I learn that Jose Baez is filing a Motion to Transfer Venue - and his spokesperson has told the media that afterwards, he will have a press conference. Of course he is.

Meanwhile, fellow "Dream Team" attorney Linda Kenney Baden has been up in New York City, appearing on the Today Show and telling everyone how the local media has been sooooo biased, but the national media has been so NOT.

Please. Does this woman watch Nancy Grace? I do. Most folk at Nancy Grace aren't discussing the issue of whether or not Casey Anthony killed her daughter, they're talking about how strong the state's case is and whether or not Casey Anthony will get the death penalty - and they're looking carefully at all the new document dumps as they occur. (There was another one last Friday.)

There's No Big Diff in the Media Coverage

My first point: there is no significant distinction to be made between the local media and the national media in how the Casey Anthony case is being portrayed. That's hooey.

And, now, my second point. And it's much bigger.

Terry Lenamon Posted Florida Rule on Death Penalty Qualified Attorneys

I was over at Terry Lenamon's blog (he was the attorney last fall who argued for Casey Anthony and got the death penalty off the table for her) and he's building a big blog all about the death penalty -- both in Florida and across the country. Lots of stuff about capital punishment.

(As a side note, Lenamon's picked up on our illustrious Chief Justice Sharon Keller over here, but that's a different post for a different day. We're all so very proud here in Texas.}

And Terry Lenamon has put the entire Florida rule on what attorneys can represent defendants who are facing the death penalty. Appointed or Retained. And, Florida is pretty darn strict on which attorneys get to take on this job.

And here's the big scoop that I'm shocked no one is discussing....no one on the Casey Anthony Legal Team Meets the Florida Legal Standard

There is absolutely NO ONE on the Casey Anthony legal team, as far as I can tell, that has these qualifications. Lenamon did, but he isn't currently on the "Dream Team."

Neither Jose Baez or Linda Baden meet this statute. Go read it for yourself.

I think this creates a great argument that there is a Due Process violation here.

Think about it. Jose Baez filed a major request with the court today -- a venue challenge. Big deal in any case, MAJOR big deal in this one. Does he have legal authority to act? Looks questionable, given the statute.

Is this ineffective assistance of counsel? Mebbe. Bigger argument, I think: Casey Anthony's due process rights are being violated if she's been represented outside of the Florida qualification statute.

Think of the appeal, assuming she's found guilty.

Lawyer without the necessary - and mandatory - legal prerequisites makes major decisions and files key motions (like the venue request) in a death penalty case.

First argument, it's due process as a matter of law because the Florida statute wasn't met. Second argument, it's due process under the facts of the case because this unqualified attorney made flawed decisions during the course of Casey Anthony's case that have irreparably harmed her.

More on this later. I'm just fuming.

And that was even BEFORE I read all about how it took 8 years for Jose Baez to get a bar license with the State of Florida.

Ye Gads. Why the heck isn't Terry Lenamon -- who is death qualified -- on this Casey Anthony case?

I am not a Florida attorney, nor am I a criminal defense attorney. But I do know a little about the 8th and 14th Amendments to the US Constitution, I can read a statute, and I'm thinking I have a real and valid concern here.

Wish Terry Lenamon could talk about this.