2
2
1
Cross Posted at Legal Schnauzer
Judges can't seem to stay off police blotters these days. They are the ones who are supposed to uphold the law in our courtrooms?
The latest example comes from New Mexico, where a state judge faces charges that he sexually assaulted a prostitute. District Judge Albert S. "Pat" Murdoch, 59, was arrested last week and charged with criminal sexual penetration and intimidation of a witness. He was released on a $50,000 bond overnight.
It's extremely unusual for an exalted member of the judiciary to face such charges, right? Well, not exactly. U.S. District Judge Jack Camp, of Atlanta, was arrested last October on drug and weapons charges related to his relationship with a stripper. The "honorable" Judge Camp was relieved of his law license and sentenced to 30 days (30 whole days!) in federal prison.
In fact, Georgia seems to be Ground Zero for "judges gone wild." We'll take a closer look at the Peach State in a moment. But first, what in the heck is going on out in New Mexico? Will Murdoch, another fine public servant, get off with a similar slap on his berobed wrist--much like the one Camp received? Well, it's too early to say. But Murdoch seems to be quite the rounder. From a report by MSNBC:
A criminal complaint said the prostitute told police that she had visited Murdoch approximately eight times in his home after he answered an online personals ad and exchanged money for sexual acts.
She said that the first time she met him, he said he wanted to perform oral sex on her but she refused. But Murdoch nonetheless "forced himself on her to perform the oral sex," according to the complaint.
That might not be the most disturbing aspect of Murdoch's behavior. Consider this:
She later videotaped another encounter with the judge where he again performed oral sex on her against her will, it said.
It said she did so after she began posing hypothetical situations regarding a woman making allegations against him and he responded that ". . . he would use the police and his connections to take care of the situation," according to the complaint.
Not only did "his honor" abuse a woman, he planned to abuse the justice system, as well. He probably would have gotten away with it if his victim had not produced her own version of "sex, lies, and videotape."
What about the wacky judges of Georgia? They have been so bad that The Wall Street Journal spotlighted them last August. Consider some of the extracurricular activities of judges in Georgia:
* One sent a message over Facebook to a criminal defendant, saying he'd give her behind-the-scenes advice on her case.
1 | 2
