Posted on 05/21/2012 1:01:33 PM PDT by jazusamo
On the heels of the scandal surrounding one government agency's lavish Las Vegas conference, federal judges in the western U.S. circuit are catching flak from Congress for a planned Maui getaway that could cost taxpayers more than $1 million.
The Maui meet-up is scheduled for August under the banner of the 2012 Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference, and will include judges, attorneys, staff and "special guests" from various federal courts spread across nine western states -- including judges on the California-based Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
While in Hawaii, the guests are scheduled to stay in the upscale Hyatt Regency Maui Resort & Spa. And they'll have the chance to kick back with an array of recreational activities -- sport fishing, golf, paddle-board lessons, yoga, Zumba, even a floral design workshop.
The official website for the conference stresses that "government funds are not used for any recreational or sporting activities."
But Sens. Jeff Sessions, R-Ala., and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, in a letter to Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Alex Kozinski, called the activities "unrelated to the business of the court" and questioned whether the Ninth Circuit really needed to ship everyone out to the islands -- a trip that incurs substantial costs in travel and lodging alone.
"The programs read more like a vacation than a business trip to discuss the means of improving the administration of justice," they wrote. "We are concerned about the overall cost of this conference and do not believe that discussions about the administration of justice would be less successful were they held somewhere other than a spa and resort in Hawaii."
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
Sickening. This used to be a scandal, but since Obama, every politician can get away with anything. We haven’t lowered the bar....we removed it from existence!
I was thinking of the Plaza Motel on Cicero at about 55th in Chicago.
Why don’t they vacation in the U.S.? Surely one of our 57 states could accommodate them. /s/
Maybe some of the legal eagles who are attending need some extra birth certificates.
Dude, spring for the hot tub!
As soon as I read the headline I knew it. 9th circuit. Pathetic.
Bring the little lady!
You will see members of city councils, school baords, superintendants and every other thing going to “conferences” and such on taxpayer dime all the time.
It’s insidious.
Recently members of the Dallas (or Fort Worth?) school board went to Colorado to “check out” things before they hired a new school chief. He being the only nominee.
The city of Vancouver, WA had conferences for different departments some years back when the economy was good, they'd be in other parts of the state and be for 2 or 3 days.
When times got tough they were one of the first things to go. Now they've been laying off a lot of people. If they can do without conferences now they could have gotten along fine without them then.
I was just there for a medical seminar(that I paid for)in the fall. The hotel was being torn up and redecorated with the management insisting that the sound of hammers and electric saws would not be too disturbing for the guests. For $260/night I didn’t want to hear anyone even think about getting leied.
Perfect! I think I forget exactly where the Plaza is/was ( I’m going back 40 years). But Sportsman’s looks to have all the accoutrements necessary for our august barristers: whores, gin mills, Sportsman’s Park Jockeys, White Castle - and Midway Airport a short taxi ride away. Al Capone’s old stomping grounds.
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