The Judicial Performance Commission has found that Judge Littlejohn violated Danny Lampley’s First Amendment rights by incarcerating him for refusing to say the pledge of allegiance, and has recommended to the Mississippi Supreme Court that Judge Littlejohn be given a public reprimand and fined $100 for violating Lampley’s rights.
The decision as to sanction is based in part on the fact that Judge Littlejohn cooperated with the investigation and agreed that henceforth, the pledge would be voluntary.
Here’s a copy of the press release and pleading initiating proceedings. I posted about this previously here here and here.
Danny is pleased at the vindication of his First Amendment rights.
He had appealed the contempt order, and Judge Littlejohn has entered a third order withdrawing the contempt ruling.
Disclosure: I’ve been giving legal advice to Danny throughout.
It sounds like a slap on the wrist, but if Danny is happy, that’s all that matters.
Fair enough. $100 is rather slight, but on a par with other stuff I’ve seen.
I wonder what on earth Littlejohn argued in his motion to dismiss. Barnette applies only in school?
The ole boy system takes care of its own. We could string together a number of factual variations that probably would alter the severity of the court’s sanctions, but … “Forget it, Jake ….”
The old coot got off very light. I wish it was a suspension. Looks very bad to most of the civilized public.
Well the Supreme Court could decide that was not enough. I would hope so. This recommendation would do little to deter future bad behavior. I mean really, this was no mistake or quick error in judgment; he had planned this well in advance. It was malice plain and simple.
Whatever, the commission gets upset about the judge being mean to po lil attorney in his courtroom but gives Houston Patton a pass literally for jailing a man for two weeks without charge and then lying to the police to get him indicted for extortion.
“Severity of punishment does not deter crime, Surety of punishment will deter crime”
So sayth some District Judge in KY to an empaneled Grand Jury some 40 years ago!
Kingfish, the “poor little lawyer” was jailed illegally for asserting his First Amendment rights. Jailed. Not just being “mean to him in his courtroom.”
He was booked. Put in prison clothes. No one explained to him why until a lawyer friend went to see him several hours later and showed him the order. He was kept there until somehow word got to the judge to chill– or perhaps that there were about to be filings before the Miss. Supreme Court.
Ever been arbitrarily and illegally put in jail? What happened with Houston Patton was worse by degree, not kind.
Kingfish, just because Houston Patton should be hauled out in chains doesn’t make Littlejohn’s arrogant contempt for the Constitution any less disagreeable.
Here’s what I would do if I could make the sanction:
I’m not sure this merits removal from the bench (But I am not sure about that: Is someone who would arbitrarily jail a person in direct violation of their constitutional rights with no notice or due process fit to be a judge? Probably not. But I doubt there’s 5 Supreme Court votes for removal). But a reprimand is pretty empty– it won’t be that much noticed. And this judge has a history of tangling with the First Amendment.
So what I’d do is condition the reprimand on him making a public and sufficient explanation, to the people in the counties he sits and to the media, of why it was wrong to jail Danny Lampley and how he’s going to assure he does no such thing again. If the explanation met the court’s approval, I’d accept it, give him the reprimand and fine, and move on. If not, I’d suspend him.
Littlejohn has no priors with the Commission, he cooperated with the investigation and apparently agreed with the suggested sanction. When compared with other sanctions of similar conduct, and an application of the “Gibson factors”, as required by the Supreme Court in judicial misconduct cases are the requisit standard of review, the recommendation seems fair. Although my personal opinion of applicable punishment for any judge who imprisons anyone without just cause, is that he should be removed from the bench; especially when, as here, the judge’s conduct appears to be planned in advance.
Kingfish has never bothered to take the Bar and get a license, so not much chance he’s appeared before any judge unless paying a ticket.
Littlejohn…..apparently agreed with the suggested sanction.
He would be a fool not to agree.
didn’t he already prove that he’s a fool, a tool, and someone who has a drool?