The disgraced judge — who once texted a shirtless photo of himself to a female court bailiff — had an affair with a woman while overseeing her child custody case, had sex with her in his chambers and sexted her from the bench. Be he over any of that because judges are immune from civil lawsuits — a well-established doctrine that has many in the legal profession demanding change, arguing the McCree case highlights a pervasive problem in the justice system: judges getting away with bad behavior on immunity grounds.
When we're told that certain government officials are off limits — it undermines public confidence in government, " said Connecticut civil rights attorney Norm Pattis, author of "Taking Back the Courts, " a bookthat documents flaws in the justice system. He's preparing to take the McCree case to the U. Supreme Court, which has long held that judges are immune from lawsuits for their acts and decisions, even unconstitutional ones.
The idea is to help judges stay impartial. Last Monday, the U. The ruling baffled Sklar. He represents the father, Robert King, who claims McCree denied him access to a fair and impartial judge by having an affair with Geniene La'Shay Mott when she sued King over child support. King claims McCree's decisions — such as placing him on a tether — were influenced by his "sexual desires" and that his rulings unfairly favored his mistress.
A judge uses his chambers to have sex with a litigant? If this isn't too far, what is too far? Over the last several decades, federal courts nationwide have consistently ruled against plaintiffs who tried to sue judges for civil damages over decisions they made or misconduct issues.
The courts granted immunity to judges under the guidance of the U. Supreme Court, which established the judicial immunity doctrine in when it ruled that a Mississippi justice of the peace was immune from a civil rights suit for trying to enforce illegal segregation laws.
