Quite a few judges are just sorry human beings. To take an oath that you will uphold the law and then knowingly and repeatedly violate it--as I've seen multiple state and federal judges do--requires a pretty disturbed mindset. But judges get away with it all the time, probably every day of the work week in the US of A.
Jack Camp's mistake is that he decided to screw around with a stripper, on her turf. He could have screwed around with parties in his courtroom and never been touched.
Here is a key point about judges: The law holds them to a high standard; they are to avoid the "appearance of impropriety." In real life, the justice system often does not enforce that standard. But that, in theory, is the standard judges are supposed to live up to.
Many judges, unfortunately, want to have their proverbial cake and eat it, too. They want all the perks that come with being a judge, but they also want to keep their social contacts, their business associations, and their prejudices. That's not how it's supposed to work--if the law is taken seriously.
I've written about judges who play golf with attorney friends and then proceed to hear their cases--ruling unlawfully in their favor. I've written about judges who belong to hunting clubs with attorney friends and then proceed to hear their cases--ruling unlawfully in their favor. I've had readers respond with comments such as, "Hey, judges are going to hang out with their friends. That's just the way it is, and it's no big deal."
That's not the way it's supposed to be--and it's a very big deal. No one is forced to be a judge; if you can't live up to the standard, don't take the position. No one is forced to remain a judge; if a judge discovers after taking the bench that the standard is too much to bear, then he can resign.
Jack T. Camp, for example, could have said, "You know, I really enjoy snorting drugs with my new stripper friend. She's introduced me to a whole new side of life. God, my wife is so boring, by comparison. And those lap dances . . . man, they are something else! I think I'll step down from the bench tomorrow."
But he didn't do that. He was used to the amenities of his position and didn't want to give them up. In the end, Jack T. Camp became Exhibit A of just how bad our justice system has become.
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