Associated Press
U.S. District Chief Judge Richard Cebull, Montana's chief federal judge, admitted this week he sent a racist email attacking President Obama and his mother from his courthouse chambers. Yesterday, the story took an even more serious turn.
The Judicial Council of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals opened a misconduct review of Montana's chief federal District Court judge for forwarding a racially charged email about President Obama from his courthouse computer.
Judge Richard F. Cebull asked for the review as calls mounted Thursday for his immediate resignation. Legal ethics experts predicted the incident would result in a public admonishment.
The judge also sent a letter to the president, saying, "I sincerely and profusely apologize to you and your family for the email I forwarded.... Please forgive me."
The next question is whether this will be sufficient.
On Capitol Hill, Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D-Texas), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic Caucus, called on Cebull to resign. Gonzalez, along with the chairs of the Congressional Black Caucus and Congressional Asian Pacific American Caucus, issued a joint statement condemning the judge for the incident.
Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.), the chair of the CBC, added, "An apology alone is not acceptable."
What's more, Common Cause, which filed a formal complaint with the 9th Circuit, has called for Cebull's ouster, and the Montana Human Rights Network has begun collecting signatures urging the judge to resign.
As for the misconduct review, initiated by Cebull himself, there are a handful of questions for the judicial council to consider.
All federal judges are expected to meet published ethical standards and the Code of Conduct, which call on judges to refrain from political activity and ask that those on the bench "act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary."
The misconduct review process could lead to a variety of outcomes, ranging from dismissal of the complaint to a recommendation of impeachment, which would be in the hands of the U.S. Senate.
What's likely to happen in this case? Mark Follman talked to some experts in judicial ethics.
Where to draw the line between appropriate and inappropriate speech by judges is a complicated matter, says Jeffrey M. Shaman, a judicial ethics expert at DePaul University College of Law. But there seems to be little doubt that Cebull crossed over the line. "Offensive, racist speech such as this clearly diminishes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the judiciary, and therefore should be considered a violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct," Shaman told me. "Judge Cebull ought to know better, and his circulation of such a disgusting message makes one wonder if he is competent to serve as a judge."
What might the consequences be for Cebull?
"While I certainly see why this type of joke raises serious and legitimate concerns, I am not convinced that it warrants punishment beyond the current (and justified) public criticism," wrote George Washington University legal scholar Jonathan Turley on Thursday. "The judge is claiming that he thought he was sending this to a handful of friends. It would be akin to a bad joke at a party being repeated later."
Leave a Comment:
Too bad that the judicial code of conduct is not followed by Supreme Court justices Scalia and Thomas since they regularly attend political functions and speak at them for the Kochs. I know this is off message but the outrage over this conduct should be visited on all Federal Judges that do not follow the code. The Supremes are not required to officially follow these rules since they are on the highest court they are supposed to do this as part of their responsibility as a judge above reproach.
Yeah---matter of fact, let's get brother Clarence's opinion on this latest example of escalating racial virulence emanating from the highest levels of our three branches of government (well, two of the three anyway). Oh...no? Justice Thomas says he must recuse himself from this one? Shucks, we were so anticipating your response on this matter sir...
Hey, here's a joke: A young Richard Cebull asks his dad, "Where is mom." His dad replies, "She's at the vet getting her distemper and rabies vaccination. Later on, we'll take her for a walk at the park."
Wow, isn't that funny or just plain asinine? Same with his joke.
Mr President, an apology is NOT enough. To forgive someone whose ethical past is unknown, or at least doubtful, would be a mistake. Call him to stand tall before you and explain his "sympathies" for his remarks. He'll probably be smiling.
I think he should have to shave off his Col. Sanders facial hair and then resign.
What@rona said!
Do you guys know how bad all AMERICIANS look when the rest of the world reads this type of ignorance. Everyday there's something ( or many something's ) in the news that make all of you look like a bunch of ignorant , racist fools . I know your not all like it but the fact that this type of bs happens every day in almost every way does say a lot about your country and none of it is good
Do you guys know how bad all AMERICIANS look when the rest of the world reads this type of ignorance. Everyday there's something ( or many something's ) in the news that make all of you look like a bunch of ignorant , racist fools . I know your not all like it but the fact that this type of bs happens every day in almost every way does say a lot about your country and none of it is good
Jon Turley, are you crazy? "Admonished"? I'm glad you're not on this cretin's review board. He's a freakin Federal District Judge! Thankfully he has to answer to his department head Eric Holder, and to the Big Boss, Barack. Hopefully they won't be fearing the usual expected white backlash from firing this moron because it's an election year.
The judge was attacking white people who have sex with blacks.
He is useless as a judge. He can't hear any minority or mixed-race case. He should be fired.
And by the way, you can't say "I sincerely and profusely apologize," because "profusely" is a decription that only another person observing your apology can attribute to it. Trying to call his own act of apology "profuse" is almost as lame as his original non-apology to "anyone who is offended by it."
Now, he could have said something like: "Mr. President, I sincerely apologize for my insulting and racist comments about your mother and your race. That I forwarded the email reveals me as unfit to be a dogcatcher let alone a federal judge. I never intended it to be seen except by my equally racist and repugnant buddies. They aren't my buddies any longer. I've cut all ties with them and with the rest of the civilized world, to which I no longer deserve to belong. I'm retreating to a cave to ponder my faults. Once again, my deepest and humblest apologies to you, your family, and the nation."
If he had said that, then I could say he had apologized profusely. As it is, not so much.
We dont need racist judges period. He needs to go.
Sorry Judge we're not excepting any applications today. But I understand their hiring at Kentucky Fried Chicken. What about the people that he sent the emails to maybe the FBI would like to check them out Just sayin????
Let's see who subpoenas his computer and "see" how many of these he has received (possibly from other judges) and how many more he has forwarded. If he is like other enlightened Americans he would have deleted them. But, obviously, he is not.
It's time yet again to remind the Rabid Right that "Freedom of Speech" does not equal "Freedom from Consequences." Almost any other person, almost any other job, this wouldn't even be a discussion, he'd be fired and that's the end of it. But no, he's a White Judge so he actually gets chances to justify himself.
Regarding judicial impartiality, it's already hard enough to accept judges being impartial after some of the results coming out of the courts. The only way this judge could be more blatant about being partial is to literally declare that he's biased.
Apologies from the politicians and govt leaders alike, when caught, are becoming the norm. The racism is still there. He's not sorry, he's sorry he got caught sending such an email from his chambers, no less. There's no justification for that, it cannot and should not be dismissed as "boys will be boys." Any minority coming before him should have the right to ask him to recuse himself and frankly, he should be removed. That he initiated his own review is tantamount to a child putting himself in timeout, in order to avoid a spanking.
I'd also be wondering how many White people that were guilty got off in his court. Luckily for them our law system wouldn't focus on that.
I know I am in safe company here. I am a black person and whenever I read these kinds of stories my blood boils. These kinds of things happen and people of color are told to suck it up. I really wonder how much sucking it up one can do without getting all kinds of mental health issues. I know that free speech is protected but wow, this is wrong.
It isn't a problem of free speech that we're talking about here. It's whether a racist scum bag should be in a position where he has authority over people.
It only proves that this behavior is typical and he thought nothing of it to use tax payer dollars to expose his ignorance. If these are his beliefs that's fine, but he is a judge sitting on the bench making decisions on people's lives. He only showed who he really is, ...He wish he had as much class, character ,morals aand values as President Obama. One question,why do the GOP claim to be the party with all the christian values..and when you see, watch and hear from their so called party members the total opposite is exposed. It appears they are all a bunch of hyocrites, filled with ignorance, and hate. What christian teachings are they following..not the ones taught and preached by Jesus Christ!
It was thought because America finally had a president of color, especially African American, that racism no longer existed. African Americans knew this was as far from the truth as you can get. It has however, exposed the racism that is alive and well in America in 2012. Through President Obama's entire time in office he has had to put up with such hate, ignorance, vile and repulsive behavior, from people in this country , they say they love. I don't agree on the policies of the GOP, but not because of the color of their skin, but because their policies don't reflect my views on what this economy needs, not friendly toward the working class, and that we have tried their way and it didn't work, that's why we are in the predicament we are in now. It's a shame because they are always preaching about the Constitution and the rights that we are afforded in this country. I see nothing but hyrocrisy, ignorance, hatred, bigotry and all the other evils filled in this country. How can we be an example to others all over the world? President Obama, I am so proud of you and the character you bring to the office of President. I am glad you represent me and my views. Keep up the job you are doing and I will take as many people to polls and I can here in Houston, Texas. God's speed...
This republican party no longer wear white hoods they are wearing the Definition of ARROGANCE: an attitude of superiority manifested in an overbearing manner or in presumptuous claims or assumptions. No I don't see Christian in that.
"he thought he was sending this to a handful of friends."
That is totally irrelevant. It means absolutely nothing. The important thing is that he is the type of person who would do it in the first place and who thinks that this type of an attitude is acceptable. Whether he sincerely apologizes or not matters little. He is still the same person who has this disgusting attitude, and someone like him has no business being anywhere near a position of authority over anyone.
If a defendant was before him and he knew there had been bad blood between the defendant and the accuser before this, would a simple apology be believed, and would it make it all go away? My guess is NO. People who are forced to apologize are rarely sorry. They're sorry they got caught. Oh, and if someone who worked for the judge was stupid enough to send out a derogatory email about the judge and HIS mother, that was of a somewhat sexual nature, would an apology be enough?
The President's mother did everything Republicans SAY they want--she got married before she had a baby, she didn't have an abortion, she raised and educated her son in a loving family. Her sin--her husband and the father of her baby was black. The ignorance and racism runs so deep, it overcomes any other achievement that a person demonstrates. This email insinuates that the woman conceived him at a "party" with a stranger--nothing could be further from the truth. Whoever wrote that email was a racist and a despicable liar, and everyone who forwarded it is the same. Impeach the judge.
Montana has less than 1 million people and 95% are white. Montana's other numbers are exactly stellar either. The State can claim a low credit rating, incomes just above those in the South and a less educated population. They are xenophobic and seem to have a chip on their shoulders when it comes to any type of change. They also protect their own. This story barely made headlines in the Helena Independent Record.
This Judge is representative of Montanans attitude. Its such a white place that they don't realize how racist they are. American Indians are blatantly stereotyped and marginalized here. You can say anything about about an Indian here and no one calls it. I have heard Federal workers here complain about Indians saying they stll have to fight Custer's war. I have heard the most Executive in State Government say they want to avoid being seen as Indian lovers.
Most serious crimes in Indian Country will end up Federal Court. They dont stand a chance here.
I guess he hasn't been removed.
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-505245_162-57428337/judge-temporarily-blocks-release-of-ppl-data/