Bush nominee broke law (federal judge - violated conflict of interest)

[sabra]

http://www.salon.com/news/feature/2006/01/23/payne/

Bush nominee broke law

A federal judge nominated to the U.S. Circuit Court owned stock in corporations involved in lawsuits brought before him.

Jan. 23, 2006 | 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.

Payne's financial filings show holdings of up to $100,000 in SBC Communications stock, up to $50,000 in Wal-Mart stock and up to $15,000 in Pfizer stock, among others, while he presided over lawsuits involving the companies or their subsidiaries. In fact, it appears that since he was appointed by Bush in 2001 as a federal district judge in Oklahoma, Payne has been sitting inappropriately on at least one case at any given moment for nearly his entire federal judgeship.


Last fall, Payne's nomination to the 10th Circuit got little public attention while the media focused on the president's Supreme Court nominations. But Chief Justice John Roberts and current nominee Samuel Alito have tripped over the conflict of interest issue as well. Roberts, who holds an array of blue chip stocks and has unprecedented corporate ties for a sitting Supreme Court justice, has already recused himself from numerous cases and admitted a mistake in not recusing himself earlier from another. Alito was grilled in Senate hearings this month about why in one instance he didn't follow through on a pledge to recuse himself from any case involving the mutual fund company Vanguard, in which he held investments.

[baldguy]

1. Isn't having a conflict of interest a PREREQUISITE for a Bush nominee?

[DanCa]

2. you know....

I was thinking the same thing..

[EFerrari]

13. Me, too. That was the audition.

They know exactly what this guy's price is, to be crass.

[Canuckistanian]

3. Either that or an old school chum.

I think that's the rule.

[The Roux Comes First]

4. Actually had to chuckle that too-casual read . . . .

had me thinking post was about Alito! Deosn't he have similar record, though perhaps with less frequent offenses?

[Dover]

5. Corporations and the ruling class figured out a long time ago

that it was more efficient to infiltrate the government and control the money than to pay off or kill off truly 'independent' politicians. And thus we no longer have a government for, by and of the People. Anyone still carrying that illusion around is lost.

[f-bush]

6. IMPEACHMENT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[ShockediSay]

8. As soon as the votes are there

to make it happen.

I feel the same way about Scalia (the quack) and his refusal to recuse himself on Cheney's secret meeting with the Enron guys and the rest of the energy crowd.

[f-bush]

10. Agreed

the problem is getting the elections needed to tip House and Senate.

But, I think with enough pressure from the American public, Bush in his arrogance and ignorance will fuck up so bad, that impeachment will start looking good even to the more level headed repuglicans out there!

[UrbScotty]

11. But where's the stain? (nt)

[orleans]

14. ah yes, impeachment

"it's not just for blowjobs anymore"

http://www.cafepress.com/buy/impeachment%20blowjob/-/pv_design_details/pg_1/id_10293335/opt_/fpt_/c_/hlv_t

[HuffleClaw]

7. i'm sure it was a piffling 'oversight'

a 'clerical error', yeah, thats it! a few hundred minor little 'clerical errors'.

[wordpix2]

9. good. This whole issue can be debated during the FILIBUSTER of Alito

[mikeybabe125]

12. suprise...suprise

there all a gang of criminals.

[banana republican]

15. Some one from the 10th circuit should file a complaint with the Bar Ass.

That would be an attorney's worst nightmere. Get him disbarred....

[chat_noir]

16. Center for Investigative Reporting

Under Sources and More Information below, you will find documents used to research this (Salon) story, including details on how Judge Payne apparently made a political contribution to a Republican candidate for governor despite ethics rules against such activity. Also find tips for how to check on judicial conflicts of interest.

Sources And More Information
> 28 USC Sec. 455: Disqualification of justice, judge, or magistrate judge In 1974, Congress revised the law on judicial conflicts of interest to make the rules on recusals more strict and objective. The new law basically set in stone the judicial code of conduct previously adopted by the federal judiciary: "(a) Any justice, judge, or magistrate judge of the United States shall disqualify himself in any proceeding in which his impartiality might reasonably be questioned. (b) He shall also disqualify himself in the following circumstances: ... He knows that he, individually or as a fiduciary, or his spouse or minor child residing in his household, has a financial interest in the subject matter in controversy or in a party to the proceeding, or any other interest that could be substantially affected by the outcome of the proceeding; ... 'financial interest' means ownership of a legal or equitable interest, however small… "

> Stocks and Lawsuits Click here for a list of cases where Judge Payne issued orders or held a settlement conference while reporting stock holdings in one of the companies involved.

> SBC Recusal Notice In 2002, Payne recused himself from a case against Cingular Wireless and SBC Communications explicitly because of his SBC stock holdings. Though SBC owns 60 percent of Cingular, Payne later sat on other Cingular cases.
> Judge Payne's 2005 Senate Judiciary Questionnaire The detailed questionnaires that judicial nominees submit to the Senate Judiciary Committee are a good introduction to a sitting judge’s background. Except for the most recent ones and those before 1999, a judge’s confirmation hearing and questionnaire can be downloaded at http://www.gpoaccess.gov/congress/senate/judiciary/index.html. In both his 2001 questionnaire, when he was nominated to be federal judge, and his 2005 questionnaire, Payne wrote, “In general, I plan to comply with” federal law and the judicial code of conduct concerning conflicts of interest and recusing.


Center for Investigative Reporting