Activism Alert: There's Another Federal Judge Guarding the Hen House!

Okay, I know the expression is "rooster" guarding the hen house, (or another name for rooster if you prefer) but if the judicial robe fits...

In 1991 a woman named Anita Hill made headlines when George Bush's pick for Supreme Court Justice, then Federal Judge Clarence Thomas was accused by hill of lewd sexual comments to her in the workplace when she had clerked for him. Hill's testimony sparked a much needed national backlash against sexual harassment in the work place which left women feeling empowered and men feeling robbed. While it sparked a greater sensitivity in the workplace, Judge Thomas was eventually confirmed to the United States Supreme Court where he continues to serve. That brings me to the topic of the newest federal judge in trouble for dipping his beak in the company ink, Judge Samuel B. Kent of Galveston, Texas.

Mr. Kent is a judge for the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in the single-judge Galveston Division covering Brazoria, Chambers, Galveston, and Matagorda Counties. He was nominated by George H.W. Bush on August 3, 1990, to a seat vacated by Hugh Gibson and confirmed by the Senate on September 28, 1990. Judge Kent received his commission on October 1, 1990. Up until recently he has been known for his court room antics wherein he has used the power of his bench to essentially bully people for his own amusement. In 2001 Judge Kent's writing style and judicial demeanor held to the fire in an article entitled "Bullying from the Bench". One law professor Steven Lubet compared Judge Kent to "a schoolyard bully who taunts lawyers, who are in no position to respond in kind". He did a computer search revealing numerous examples of Judge Kent referring to something as "asinine," "ludicrous," "ridiculous," and the like- in his time on post. Accroding to Lubet, "In just 11 years, he used the word "asinine" 13 times; all US courts of appeal combined had used this word as a descriptor only 16 times since 1944." Well now Judge Kent is in a bit of an asenine (or ludicrous if you prefer) situation of his own.