Post by pavel on Jan 23, 2016 7:00:11 GMT -6
U.S. Rep. Bill Flores, R-Bryan, thinks a reprimand of U.S. District Judge Walter S. Smith Jr. for improper sexual advances toward a courthouse employee was not harsh enough and said he will explore procedures to impeach the judge.
The Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally reprimanded the 75-year-old Smith in December after finding he made ”inappropriate and unwanted physical and nonphysical advances” toward a female courthouse staff member in his court chambers in 1998.
Smith, a federal judge since 1984 and a former chief judge of the Western District of Texas, also was suspended for one year from hearing any new criminal or civil cases filed after Dec. 3. But he continues to receive full pay. Federal judges have lifetime appointments and are set to earn $203,100 in 2016.
Flores said Thursday he will meet next week with the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to familiarize himself with impeachment protocol. Meanwhile, Ty Clevenger, the former Dallas attorney who initiated the complaint against Smith, filed an appeal of the reprimand on Monday with the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Administrative Office of United States Courts in Washington, D.C., because he thinks it was too lenient.
Read more: www.wacotrib.com/news/politics/rep-flores-judge-s-punishment-did-not-fit-the-crime/article_98fe9a9c-f192-53e2-9c49-92f34048133e.html
The Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals formally reprimanded the 75-year-old Smith in December after finding he made ”inappropriate and unwanted physical and nonphysical advances” toward a female courthouse staff member in his court chambers in 1998.
Smith, a federal judge since 1984 and a former chief judge of the Western District of Texas, also was suspended for one year from hearing any new criminal or civil cases filed after Dec. 3. But he continues to receive full pay. Federal judges have lifetime appointments and are set to earn $203,100 in 2016.
Flores said Thursday he will meet next week with the chairman of the House Judiciary Committee to familiarize himself with impeachment protocol. Meanwhile, Ty Clevenger, the former Dallas attorney who initiated the complaint against Smith, filed an appeal of the reprimand on Monday with the Judicial Conference Committee on Judicial Conduct and Disability of the Administrative Office of United States Courts in Washington, D.C., because he thinks it was too lenient.
Read more: www.wacotrib.com/news/politics/rep-flores-judge-s-punishment-did-not-fit-the-crime/article_98fe9a9c-f192-53e2-9c49-92f34048133e.html