Judge Samuel Kent received some good news and some bad news yesterday. Well, it was really a case of bad news and it-could've-been-worse news.
Kent, you may remember, is the federal district court judge from Galveston, Texas who pleaded guilty to obstruction of justice related to the investigation into allegations (which he later admitted were true) that he had non-consensual sexual contact with courthouse employees.
The bad news for Judge Kent is that the House Judiciary Committee voted
28-0 to impeach the judge and remove him from his lifetime appointment
and $174,000 salary. The Houston Chronicle reports
that the full House is expected to approve impeachment proceedings
before the July 4 break. After that it falls to the Senate to conduct
a trial.
The it-could've-been-worse news is that Kent will be
reporting to a federal prison in Massachusetts on Monday, not a prison
near Galveston populated by inmates whom Kent had personally put away.
Kent will be spending the next 33 months, give or take, at the Federal
Medical Center at Devens, which specializes in inmates with medical or
mental health issues.
Kent requested treatment for alcohol
abuse, which is likely why this prison was selected. That and the
aforementioned possibility of the other inmates wanting to kill or
inflict grievous bodily injury upon him were he to serve his time in a
prison near Galveston.
So, on the one hand, Kent can be glad
that he'll be going to a safe(r) prison where he can receive treatment
for his alcohol abuse, and a prison where there are intramural sports and a music practice room.
On the other hand, it is, after all, still prison.
See Also:
House Committee Votes 28-0 to Boot Kent from Judiciary (WSJ Law Blog)