(TX) Houston judge faulted for fixing guns in court

O

Oatka

New member
Kinda like the judge playing with a toy guillotine while your trial is going on.
http://dallasnews.com/latestnews/110978_judge.html

Houston judge faulted for fixing guns in court

Associated Press

HOUSTON – Judge Roy Bean may have gotten away with using a revolver for a gavel, but the Old West behavior of a modern-day visiting judge wasn't tolerated by a state's judicial review board.

Judge H. Lon Harper received a reprimand from the State Commission on Judicial Conduct Wednesday for repairing two single-action Colt revolvers as he presided over jury selection in a murder trial last fall.

The jury was being selected for the capital murder case of Anthony Cardell Haynes, who was later convicted and condemned for shooting an off-duty police officer and his wife on May 22, 1998.

In the reprimand, which does nothing more than publicly shame a jurist, the commission said Harper "failed to act in a dignified manner'' and "failed to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom.''

"Almost all the judges carry guns," Harper told the Houston Chronicle in an article published Thursday. "I just should have just kept mine under the robe instead of outside of it with a screwdriver.''

©2000 The Dallas Morning News




[This message has been edited by Oatka (edited July 13, 2000).]
 
Did he strip the screws? Lose the cylinder pin? Convert a mint black powder SAA from .32-20 to .32 Loudenboomer Express?

Those are the only reasons I can think of to reprimand him...

LawDog
 
Another take on the same story.

Judge Repairs Guns in Courtroom
The Associated Press HOUSTON (AP)

A state judge has been reprimanded for repairing guns on the bench as he presided over jury selection in a murder trial. The State Commission on Judicial Conduct said Wednesday that District Judge H. Lon Harper ``failed to act in a dignified manner'' and ``failed to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom.''

Harper said the time he spent repairing two single-action Colt revolvers took only a few hours during jury selection that took weeks last fall. ``Almost all the judges carry guns. I just should have just kept mine under the robe instead of outside of it with a screwdriver,'' Harper said. ``I guess I won't do any more handgun repair on the bench.''

The commission also cited Harper for allowing a court bailiff to read a British tabloid - which included a picture of a man being eaten by a python - during jury selection and for distributing business cards for his private mediation business that were adorned with the state seal. AP-NY-07-13-00 0652EDT

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Skyhawk

[This message has been edited by Skyhawk (edited July 13, 2000).]
 
Officially, the problem wasn't that he was working on his pistols. It was that he wasn't paying attention during the trial. The "gun" element, however, brought raised enough of a fuss that the judicial board couldn't overlook it, or they chose to get involved because of a political grudge against the judge. There are numerous cases of judges sleeping through trials and nothing ever happening to them. I've actually seen a judge nod off during a trial, but nothing was said because we all understood. The attorney who put her to sleep was SO boring. Problem was, he was our co-counsel. :(
 
Well, to be frank, I think this was a little bizarre as well. And, I wouldn't think it was less bizarre if he was assembling model airplanes, reloading, fixing his motorcycle or reading War and Peace ... ;)

Regards from AZ
 
Somebody has been watching a few to many reruns of night court.



------------------
Richard

The debate is not about guns,
but rather who has the ultimate power to rule,
the People or Government.
RKBA!
 
I agree with Jeff. I think that guns was a secondary issue -- the fact that he wasn't giving his UNDIVIDED attention to what was going on in HIS courtroom was the primary problem.
 
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