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More special treatment for judge-defendant?

By Mark Obbie

There he goes again. Nearly five months after he imposed a strict gag order in the criminal prosecution of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent -- a gag order that neither party asked for, and in the absence of any sort of media circus -- the visiting judge from Florida hearing the case in Houston has ordered that certain routine filings in the case be filed under seal. The Houston Chronicle's Mary Flood explains on her blog that the sealed filings concern Kent's behavior in the past; allegations that the government wants to introduce at trial. Judge Roger Vinson's sealing of those filings came in response to a motion by Kent's lawyer, who expressed concern about tainting the jury that will hear the case against Kent next month. It's not every day that a federal judge is charged with sexually abusing women on his staff. But that's exactly why this case calls for openness, not secrecy. Everything about this case concerns the public: the behavior of a sitting judge, and the fairness of the government's case against him. Vinson's zealous efforts to inhibit public scrutiny of the case -- ostensibly to protect Kent's rights to a fair trial -- instead smack of favoritism.

Full post as published by Lawbeat on January 31, 2009 (boomark / email).