U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice Monday, avoiding a potentially humiliating trial on that charge and five others accusing him of sexually abusing two female employees.

“A trial would have been long, embarrassing and difficult for all involved,” said Dick DeGuerin, Kent’s attorney. “Judge Kent believes that this settlement is in the best interest of all involved.”

Kent faces up to 20 years in prison. Prosecutors have requested he be sentenced to three years in prison, but the judge is not bound by that recommendation.

Kent was scheduled for a jury trial Monday. Instead, he entered the plea and DeGuerin announced that Kent “retired” from the bench, a status that could allow him to continue to be paid for life. Since the 59-year-old Kent is not old enough to retire, he’d likely have to be certified fully disabled to have his retirement approved. In court, Kent said he’s been treated for diabetes and psychiatric and psychological problems for the past three years.

Kent was appointed for life in 1990 and can be removed from the payroll by congressional impeachment or by his own resignation, which is not the same as the retirement he claimed.

Few federal judges ever go to trial, but Kent’s would have been the first in which a federal judge was accused of sexual charges. In court papers, Kent not only admitted he lied to a judicial panel investigating him but also that he had non-consensual sexual contact with two female court employees between 2003 and 2007.

http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/6276260.html

I'd say impeachment should be fairly automatic here. There should be no way he draws a pension after doing what he has done.

(02-24-2009 10:46 AM)gsloth Wrote:  I'd say impeachment should be fairly automatic here. There should be no way he draws a pension after doing what he has done.

They dont need to impeach. He is "retiring early" and therefore its up to the 5th Circuit to determine if he gets the pension. I don't think Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit will be very receptive to the idea, especially after Kent lied to her Investigative Panel.

I'm just wondering why Kent fought it to this point. I'm sure early on before all of this became public that a deal was proposed that if he just resigned from the Bench then all the other stuff would "go away."

(02-24-2009 11:07 AM)WMD Owl Wrote:  They dont need to impeach. He is "retiring early" and therefore its up to the 5th Circuit to determine if he gets the pension. I don't think Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit will be very receptive to the idea, especially after Kent lied to her Investigative Panel.

Really? I would have thought 18 years would be long enough to be fully vested for a fed judge. (Not doubting... just surprised).

(02-24-2009 12:39 PM)texd Wrote:  

(02-24-2009 11:07 AM)WMD Owl Wrote:  They dont need to impeach. He is "retiring early" and therefore its up to the 5th Circuit to determine if he gets the pension. I don't think Judge Edith Jones of the 5th Circuit will be very receptive to the idea, especially after Kent lied to her Investigative Panel.

Really? I would have thought 18 years would be long enough to be fully vested for a fed judge. (Not doubting... just surprised).

To qualify you need to be 65 years of age and serve 15 years on the Bench. I think he is in his late 50's. He is a few years short.