|
|
|
Court Worker Says Judge Groped Her
Blog News |
2008/09/26 14:17
|
A state judge repeatedly fondled a court worker under her clothes and the State of Kansas fired her for reporting the sexual harassment to the chief judge and the court administrator, the woman says in Federal Court.
Christie Helm, a court worker since 1995, says Judge Frederick Stewart sexually harassed her for years, and became increasingly aggressive in 2007. Stewart is a judge in Kansas' First Judicial District.
Helm says she was an administrative aide in Judge Stewart's division from 2001 until she was fired in December 2007.
She says that "on and off" from 1998 until 2007, "Judge Stewart subjected plaintiff to sexual harassment in the form of unwelcome sexual touching and remarks."
The complaint continues: "Beginning in late March 2007 and continuing through June 2007, Judge Stewart's unwelcome sexual touching of plaintiff escalated dramatically, including the following: a. on approximately a dozen occasions, Judge Stewart tried to kiss plaintiff in his chambers; and b. on approximately five occasions, Judge Stewart reached under plaintiff's clothing and touched plaintiff's intimate body parts."
She says she reported the sexual harassment to Chief Judge David King in June 2007, to Judge Robert Bednar in August 2007, to First Judicial District Court Administrator Steve Crossland in August 2007, and that she testified about it to the Kansas Commission on Judicial Qualifications on Sept. 17, 2007.
She says Chief Judge King fired her on Dec. 14, 2007.
The complaint adds: "Chief Judge King's termination of plaintiff was in retaliation for her opposition - and/or participating in the investigation of - Judge Stewart's sexual harassment of plaintiff."
She demands punitive damages for sexual harassment and retaliatory firing. She is represented by Martin Meyers of Kansas City, Mo. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
1st black La. Supreme Court justice dies at 84
Blog News |
2008/06/23 14:29
|
| Revius Ortique Jr., the first black justice on the Louisiana Supreme Court, has died of complications from a stroke. He was 84. Current Supreme Court Justice Kitty Kimball says Ortique died Sunday. Ortique was elected to the court in 1992, but had to step down two years later when he reached the state's mandatory retirement age for judges at 70. As a civil rights lawyer in the 1950s and '60s, he helped integrate state labor unions and sued to get equal pay for black workers. He held several presidential appointments, including a stint as an alternate delegate to the United Nations under President Clinton. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Trial Suspended Over Judge's Dirty Web Site
Blog News |
2008/06/12 14:33
|
An obscenity trial in Los Angeles Federal Court was suspended after it was revealed that presiding 9th Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski posted sexually explicit photographs and videos on a Web site that he has since blocked from the public, The Los Angeles Times reported.
Kozinski, 57, claims he had no idea that the graphic materials, which included a photo of naked women painted to look like cows and a video of a man "cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal," were available to the public, The Times reported.
Kozinski is presiding over the trial of Los Angeles filmmaker Ira Isaacs, who is accused of violating U.S. obscenity laws by making pornographic films depicting extreme fetishes, including bestiality and defecation. Jurors were set to view hours of allegedly obscene videos during trial.
Kozinski told The Times that some of the material was inappropriate, while others he claimed were meant as jokes. "Is it prurient? I don't know what to tell you," he told the the paper. "I think it's odd and interesting. It's a part of life."
The judge, considered a judicial conservative, was appointed to the bench at age 35 by Ronald Regan, making him the youngest federal appeals court judge in the country. He has a reputation for championing free speech and the First Amendment.
Before it was blocked, the site alex.kozinski.com contained extensive sexually explicit material, The Times claims, including images of masturbation and public sex. "There was a slide show striptease featuring a transsexual, and a folder that contained a series of photos of women's crotches as seen through snug fitting clothing or underwear. There were also themes of defecation and urination, though they are not presented in a sexual context," Times reporter Scott Glover wrote.
"People send me stuff like this all the time," Kozinski told The Times. He said he saves items he finds interesting or amusing that he might later send to friends. But he said that he must have accidentally uploaded some of the more explicit images to his server while trying to upload something else. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
Attorney: SC Firm, Railroad to Settle
Blog News |
2008/04/07 15:17
|
A textile company that closed after a train wreck and toxic chemical spill in 2005 settled a lawsuit with a railroad company, ending a trial that began a month ago, an attorney for the firm said Monday. Avondale Mills, Norfolk Southern railroad and the mill's insurance company reached a deal over the weekend, said attorney Terry Richardson. He said the agreement did not allow him to release the details of the settlement.
Avondale Mills sued Norfolk Southern for $420 million in damages, claiming equipment at the firm's Graniteville facilities was covered with corrosive chemicals and it would have cost more than the business was worth to clean the buildings and replace the machinery. On Jan. 6, 2005, a Norfolk Southern train veered off the main track onto a spur, rear-ending a parked train whose crew had failed to switch the tracks back to the main rail. The wreck ruptured a car carrying chlorine and released a poisonous cloud over the mill town of Graniteville. Nine people died and 250 were injured. Some 5,400 people were evacuated. Richardson said Norfolk Southern should be held accountable because the railroad knew members of the crew operating the Graniteville tracks the night before the crash had been working long hours in violation of company rules. |
|
|
|
|
|
| Lawyer & Law Firm Websites |
|
|
Legal News RSS Feed
