Federal Judge Indicted

It's been over twenty years since a federal judge has been indicted on criminal charges, and even then the charges usually involved some kind of corruption like bribery. But a Texas judge has changed all that.

A few days ago, U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent of Galveston was indicted for sex crimes. He has been charged with Attempted Aggravated Sexual Abuse and two counts of Abusive Sexual Contact. He could possibly receive life sentence on the aggravated charge and two years on each of the other charges. All three charges carry a possible fine of $250,000.

The accusations first surfaced in 2007, and the Judicial Council of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals suspended the judge for four months (with pay) and then transferred him to Houston. For a while, it looked like all the judge would get for these serious accusations was a paid vacation. But that is no longer true -- as he must now defend himself in a court of law on these charges.

But he is not stepping down from the bench. His attorney, Dick DeGuerin, claims he is innocent and will remain on the bench while awaiting trial. It looks like it'll take the U.S. Congress to get this embarrassment off the bench. Since 1803, only 13 judges were impeached by the House. Two of those resigned, and another seven were removed by the Senate.

At the very least, this judge should be barred from hearing cases until he is tried in a court of law.