RUNNING HEAD: CASE STUDY1

2Case Study

Case Study on Judge ImpeachmentFrank PfliegerUniversity of Phoenix CJA/454 March 9, 2015 Laurence Duke Hess

Case Study on Judge ImpeachmentPurpose of the case studySamuel Kent, a federal judge in Galveston, TX has pled guilty to continued sexual misconduct with his female employees and drinking and being intoxicated on the job. He was found guilty by the House Judiciary Committee and sentenced to 3 years in prison, the committee also began impeachment proceedings. Mr. Kent has requested to keep his position for a year to retain medical benefits longer, he also requested to be paid & keep benefits during his 3 year prison stay, which was denied and he has reported to the committee that the reasons for his actions were due to the death of his wife a few years earlier and because of alcoholism (Powell, 2009). The question upon us is do we impeach the judge and do we grant any of his request for further salary and/or benefits?Impeachment rulesImpeachment is a power granted to Congress by the U.S. Constitution. The Impeachment is a process used by Congress to bring charges against a public official and to try them and if found guilty remove them from office. Impeachment cases are serious and therefore are not taken lightly, there have been very few impeachment cases since its inception and only a third of those cases were successful at impeaching the official who was charged (legal dictionary, 2014).My positionIn my opinion, Judge Kent should be impeached and I also feel he should not be granted the right to keep his salary and/or benefits for any length of time. There is a slang saying within the criminal justice field that states Dont do the crime if you cant do the time, and he should have thought about possible consequences before he committed these crimes. According to Tom Cohen (2009), a reporter with CNN Wilkerson one of the women who reported the assaults by Kent, told the committee that Kent often referred to himself as an all-powerful figure, calling himself the emperor of Galveston, the Lion King and the man wearing the horned hat. Both women quoted Kent as frequently saying: "I am the government." A man, who consistently made these types of comments, in my opinion, is well aware of his actions. I of course feel bad for Mr. Kent, anyone fighting alcoholism has my sympathy, however it seems as if he was giving into those alcoholic demons and not fighting them. This man continually broke the law by drinking while during work hours and by the continued assault of his 2 female employees. He has used the excuse of alcoholism and suffering from the loss of his deceased wife 3 years prior as the catalyst as to why he committed these crimes and wants to remain a judge with pay and benefits and not be impeached. In my humble opinion, I think he is crazy for ever even asking for such concessions, concessions that he as a judge would like never consider giving to someone else.If he was sitting on the bench and had a person charged with these crimes before him in his court and they tried to use the same defense he has used I am sure he would not give it any consideration. The bottom line for me is that the law is the law and if you break it you need to be held accountable. Someone in his position, who swore to uphold the law at all cost and put criminals away should not be allowed to have any benefits of his position. I am confident over his time as a judge that he did a lot of good things and has helped numerous people, however as a judge he also knew the severe circumstances if he broke the laws that he should hold very dear.

ReferencesCohen, Tom 2009, Victims allege years of sexual misconduct by a federal judge, Retrieved from: http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/06/03/judge.impeachment/index.html

Legal dictionary 2014, Impeachment Retrieved from:http://legal- dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Impeachment

Powell, Stuart 2009, U.S. House learns of Samuel Kent's 'judicial reign of terror Retrieved from: http://www.chron.com/news/houston-texas/article/U-S-House-learns-of-Samuel-Kent-s-judicial-1617493.php