Salon.com > Will Evans

Another Bush judge on the hot seat

Fri, 15 Dec 2006 13:59:00 +0000

When Sen. Patrick Leahy steps in as Judiciary Committee chairman next year -- and he's already talking tough, using that White House-dreaded word subpoena -- one man who will likely have to face him is Judge Thomas M. Hardiman of Pennsylvania. Hardiman is a federal district court judge, appointed by President Bush in 2003, whom Bush has since nominated for a promotion to the nations second highest bench.

Leahy, along with Sen. Russ Feingold, is taking Hardiman to task for political contributions he made to key Republicans while he was under official consideration for his district judgeship, as revealed in October by Salon and the Center for Investigative Reporting, after a four-month investigation of Bush judges. Hardiman gave a combined $4,400 to Republican Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum (who lost his reelection bid in November) between the time Hardiman interviewed for his judgeship with the senators' selection committee and when Bush nominated him. Such donations have raised ethical questions -- and political giving by judicial candidates was criticized by, among others, several Bush-appointed judges contacted for the Salon/CIR report. Even Specter, the outgoing Judiciary Committee chairman, told Salon he would have instructed Hardiman to stop the contributions if Specter had realized Hardiman was continuing to give him money.

Money trails lead to Bush judges

Tue, 31 Oct 2006 13:15:00 +0000

At least two dozen federal judges appointed by President Bush since 2001 made political contributions to key Republicans or to the president himself while under consideration for their judgeships, government records show. A four-month investigation of Bush-appointed judges by the Center for Investigative Reporting reveals that six appellate court judges and 18 district court judges contributed a total of more than $44,000 to politicians who were influential in their appointments. Some gave money directly to Bush after he officially nominated them. Other judges contributed to Republican campaign committees while they were under consideration for a judgeship.

Republicans who received money from judges en route to the bench include Sens. Arlen Specter and Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, Sens. George Voinovich and Mike DeWine of Ohio, and Gov. George Pataki of New York.

Embattled Bush judge disputes Salon report

Thu, 13 Jul 2006 10:30:00 +0000

One of President Bush's most controversial judicial nominees has admitted to presiding over several cases in which he held a financial interest, in violation of federal law. In his first public response to the ethical violations revealed by the Center for Investigative Reporting and Salon on May 1, Judge Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina said the conflicts were inadvertent, minor mistakes. In a letter to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and Judiciary Committee chairman Arlen Specter, made public July 12, Boyle said that hearing charges of conflicts of interest "surprised and upset me." He nevertheless disputed several of the charges.

The Salon/CIR investigation showed that Boyle issued orders in at least nine cases involving corporations in which he reported stock holdings. "In approximately four cases, the screening system in place at the Clerk's Office and in my chambers missed the appearance of a potential conflict," Boyle wrote. "Accordingly, I unknowingly and unintentionally participated in these cases while I held a minimal number of shares in one of the parties." He added: "While my stock holdings were relatively insignificant, I regret that the oversight occurred. It certainly was not my intention to participate in a case where I held stock in one of the parties."

Bench warfare

Tue, 23 May 2006 12:52:00 +0000

With an eye on congressional elections this November, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist signaled last month that he was itching for a fight, pledging floor votes in the Senate for some of President Bush's most controversial judicial nominees. Republicans would strategically welcome renewed partisan warfare over judges, it appeared, because it could help rally right-wing voters to the polls in November.

Longtime federal district Judge Terrence W. Boyle of North Carolina, for years opposed by Democrats as an enemy of civil rights, was one of Frist's top two picks to get the showdown started this month. But new revelations of ethics violations committed by Boyle have left his nomination to one of the nation's most powerful courts hanging in doubt, and Senate Republicans backpedaling. Frist has yet to schedule Boyle for a vote, but the right-wing base is already demanding action.

Key Bush judge under ethics cloud

Wed, 03 May 2006 12:50:00 +0000

Key Democrats denounced Terrence Boyle on Capitol Hill Monday and Tuesday, after a Salon report revealed that the controversial judge, nominated to one of the nation's highest courts by President Bush, violated federal law on conflicts of interest. As the debate over Boyle heated up, the White House acknowledged that Boyle should have recused himself in cases involving companies in which he owned stock -- but continued its support of the nominee.

Sen. Patrick Leahy of Vermont, the ranking Democrat of the Judiciary Committee, blasted Boyle on the floor of the Senate Monday, calling him "somebody who has violated every judicial ethic you can think of."

Leahy called it "chutzpah beyond all understanding" that Boyle, in one case, bought stock in General Electric while presiding over a lawsuit against the company -- and just two months later threw out most of a disability claim against the company. "Now, in the first year of law school you might get an example like this because it is so clear-cut and easy to understand," Leahy said. "This is amazing -- amazing -- notwithstanding all the other conflicts of interest he had in other cases. Whether or not it turns out that Judge Boyle broke federal law or canons of judicial ethics, these types of conflicts of interest have no place on the federal bench."

Controversial Bush judge broke ethics law

Mon, 01 May 2006 12:43:00 +0000

Starting in 2002, Terrence W. Boyle, a longtime federal district court judge in North Carolina, presided over a lawsuit against General Electric, in which the corporation stood accused of illegally denying disability benefits to a long-standing employee. Deep into the case, on Jan. 15, 2004, Judge Boyle bought stock in General Electric, according to a review of his financial filings. Two months later, he made his ruling: Boyle shot down the plaintiff's claims to long-term and pension disability benefits, granting him only a fraction of the money in short-term compensation for a debilitating mental condition.

Boyle, 60, a controversial Bush nominee strongly opposed by Democrats and liberals as a staunch foe of civil rights, is on the verge of joining one of the country's highest courts. An investigation by Salon and the Center for Investigative Reporting has revealed that Boyle apparently violated federal law prohibiting judicial conflicts of interest -- not only in the G.E. case, but in many instances since his nomination by President Bush five years ago.

Bush withdraws nominee

Wed, 08 Mar 2006 13:00:00 +0000

President Bush's nomination of Judge James H. Payne to one of the highest courts in the nation has been withdrawn, following questions raised in late January about Payne's ethics.

Currently chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Muskogee, Okla., Payne was nominated by Bush to the Denver-based 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last September. At the time, his nomination appeared to have no roadblocks: His 2001 nomination by Bush to become a district judge in Oklahoma had been confirmed unanimously by the Senate, and as it had in 2001, the American Bar Association gave Payne its top approval rating in December as he headed toward the 10th Circuit. But Payne's qualifications drew scrutiny after Salon reported on Jan. 23 that Payne's career on the federal bench was riddled with conflicts of interest: Court and financial records show that he issued more than 100 orders in at least 18 cases involving corporations in which he had reported stock holdings. Both federal law and the Code of Conduct for U.S. judges prohibit judges from sitting on such cases.

Bush judge under ethics cloud

Tue, 31 Jan 2006 11:26:00 +0000

A federal judge nominated by President Bush to one of the nation's highest courts disqualified himself from two cases against a corporation in which he has held personal investments, after a report revealed that his career on the bench has been riddled with conflicts of interest.

On Jan. 23, following the Salon story "Bush Nominee Broke Law," Judge James H. Payne recused himself from two product-liability suits against drug titan Pfizer, which had been assigned to him since November, according to court documents. Payne has reported stock holdings of up to $15,000 in Pfizer since 1999. Federal law and the official Code of Conduct for U.S. judges explicitly prohibit judges from sitting on cases involving companies in which they or members of their immediate family own stock.

Payne was nominated by Bush last fall to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, and is awaiting a confirmation hearing. The chief judge of the 10th Circuit Court and a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee staff told Salon they plan to look further into Payne's reported violations of federal law, while senators from the judge's home state have reaffirmed their support of the nominee.

Bush nominee broke law

Mon, 23 Jan 2006 12:00:00 +0000

A judge nominated by President Bush to one of the highest courts in the nation apparently violated federal law repeatedly while serving on the federal bench. Judge James H. Payne, 64, who was nominated by Bush in late September to join the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Denver, issued more than 100 orders in at least 18 cases that involved corporations in which he owned stock, a review of court and financial records shows.

Federal law and the official Code of Conduct for U.S. judges explicitly prohibit judges from sitting on cases involving companies in which they own stock -- no matter how small their holdings -- in order to uphold the integrity of the judicial system. (Judges' financial filings typically don't differentiate ownership between the judge and immediate family members.) The clear-cut, objective standard aims to prevent even the appearance that a judge may be taking into consideration his or her personal financial interests.