Without a doubt, the reason this part of "the story" came to light is because of his despicable posts and boasts about a celebrity's adoption case; however, it was reported on at the same time. Obviously, as evidenced by the reactions of the majority on the rant, the "nursing home story" was not even an afterthought to the readers, but is absolutely the most important issue to the people directly affected by the judge - the citizens who live in his district - and should be a major concern to anyone with a brain cell.

Besides having a sitting judge with literal authority and control over people's very lives who shows bias, racism, sexism, and disdain for the people he presides over, he evidently can be bribed in his decision making on the bench. His overturning that unanimous jury's decision was the most blatant & flagrant show of a judge's prejudice - MONEY - there is. That connection & conflict of interest was the issue that infuriated me, along with the $1million reduced "award" he issued which is a very common amount of insurance coverage in cases like this. He didn't just grab that specific number out of his arse.

I believe I even commented on the importance of not having a judge who can be bribed easily in relation to the nursing home case as well as to his apparent mishandling of his personal finances. On day one of the judge's saga here, along with the juicy details of his posts and his highly questionable verdict overturning & award reduction in the nursing home case, it was reported in the same article that he recently had been upside down on his house & was threatened with foreclosure as well as some other serious financial difficulties. It was also reported that he had been in trouble previously for misusing campaign money for personal use. Someone commented that the blog was making a big deal out of the judge's having a $500,000 mortgage when in fact that's not a huge amount by present market standards. Well, no, it isn't, but that's not the point. It doesn't matter if the mortgage is $500k or $5million, if he can't afford it, or has over spent elsewhere, putting his home in jeopardy, he is much more vulnerable and possibly desperate to get rid of money problems thereby making himself a riper target for bribery. And frankly, on an app. $140,000 base salary, a $500,000 mortgage is stretching it a bit.

As far as I am concerned, it doesn't matter how these more serious allegations came to light. They were reported on at the same time the judge's inflammatory posts on td were aired, but obviously, people, particularly younger ones, will notice the juicier crap first. Details of "boring" judicial misconduct in a nursing home case, of all things, don't tend to stand out as an interesting read, although they could be the most important details. If it took the judge's own scandalous comments to bring attention to his courtroom wrongdoings, so be it. And by the way, those comments crossed that line between distasteful and perhaps legally inappropriate when he posted about the closed adoption proceedings - actually making his own thread boasting about the info he was privy to. There is one person responsible for any of the consequences the judge suffers from all of this, and that is the judge, himself. Although it is unfortunate that his family, particularly his children, have to go through a very tough time because of him, people need to remember that it IS because of him, his actions & words, they are suffering.

I detest corruption in government at all, but particularly in the judicial system, and specifically when it hits so close to home - right in the middle of it, actually - so it does not upset me when an elected official is exposed who has ...

- made his vile thoughts & beliefs public, repeatedly, through his offensive racist & sexist comments on this forum, along with his disdainful, vulgar & beyond inflammatory comments about the very people he presides over, who elected him, in the very state he lives & works.

- gave details about a closed, privileged proceeding, not in a random, accidental passing remark, but in a purposeful, boastful way by starting a thread in which that closed proceeding was the topic, thereby proving his untrustworthiness.

- based his overturning a unanimous jury's verdict and reducing their award on his bias & prejudice regarding a special interest group from whom he received a substantial donation, which to me, is the most serious issue, and is probably not the only time.

Obviously, this person does not deserve to be in the position of a judge of any kind since, evidently, he isn't trustworthy enough to handle the authority and power that come with it.

Of course, this is just my opinion.

This post was edited on 3/12/14 at 2:53 pm