The National Organization For Women is asking Congress to investigate the possibility of impeaching U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent, who has been accused of sexual harrassment and numerous other violations of judicial ethics.
I don’t often agree with NOW, but they’re certainly right on this issue. However, NOW President Kim Gandy is wrong to criticize the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit for not giving Kent a more severe punishment:
“The idea that any employee who has been found to engage in sufficient misconduct to justify a reprimand and a suspension from employment would then continue to draw a full salary from the taxpayers during that suspension is a shocking idea,” Gandy said. “It’s an outrage. He could go travel the world for four months. That’s not a punishment, that’s a reward.”
Article III of the Constitution prevents the Fifth Circuit from docking Kent’s pay or permanently removing him from hearing cases. The only way to achieve that result is impeachment by the House of Representatives followed by a conviction in the Senate.