Legal News

Kent Not Spent: Judge to Continue Hearing Cases Pending Indictment

By Ashby Jones

Forgive us for feeling a bit left out this morning. There’s a treasure-trove of news jumping off the front pages (Gustav, Sarah Palin, the Republican convention, Rick Neuheisel’s Westwood debut), though little is of the legal variety. Rather than try to shoehorn ourselves in, let’s head down to Houston, get you up to speed on the latest involving embattled federal judge Samuel Kent, about whom we blogged last week.

Turns out, Judge Kent plans to keep hearing court cases while facing prosecution on charges he fondled a former court employee, according to the chief judge for the Southern District of Texas. Here’s the AP report.

“The only way he doesn’t receive cases is if he’s no longer a judge,” judge Hayden Head Jr. said in Saturday editions of the Houston Chronicle.

“The choice is his,” added judge Lynn Hughes, one of Kent’s colleagues in Houston. “After all, he’s (presumed) innocent. That’s how we work around here.”

A recap: On Thursday, Kent was indicted on charges of abusive sexual contact and attempted aggravated sexual abuse of a female employee. According to the Chron, Kent is the first federal judge to be charged with federal sex crimes and the first in Texas indicted in recent history.

The federal criminal investigation was launched in November 2007 after Kent’s former case manager, Cathy McBroom, complained that the judge physically touched her under her clothing twice and often made obscene suggestions during the six years she worked for him.

Dick DeGuerin, Kent’s attorney, has said that everything that happened between Kent and McBroom was consensual. “To charge Judge Kent of conduct of which he is absolutely innocent based on this kind of flimsy evidence is inexcusable and we will fight it to the bitter end.” DeGuerin said.

See past LB coverage of Judge Kent here, here, here and here.

Full post as published by Law Blog - WSJ.com on September 02, 2008 (boomark / email).