Judge's misconduct cited in U-M case [democrap judge rigged panel to favor affirmative action]

Detroit News ^ | 6-6-2003 | Jodi S. Cohen

[Notwithstanding]

A 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals judge has found evidence of judicial misconduct that [in all likelihood] helped ensure the University of Michigan's lower court victory in a lawsuit against its admissions policies.

In a rare acknowledgement that a court did not follow its own rules, acting chief judge Alice M. Batchelder said the way the chief judge assigned the case and other irregular procedures "raise an inference that misconduct has occurred," according to a May 28 order from the court.

[Notwithstanding]

Judge Alice Batchelder is one of the good guys.

[spectacularbid2003]

President Carter's legacy lives on and on and on and on......

[wardaddy]

Boy howdy...I love seeing black robed social engineers taking heat!

[Notwithstanding]

Here's what I get out of it:

---

"Alleged" abuses of judicial office committed by 6th Circuit Chief Judge Martin:

1) Not only did he ignore the court's SOP for assigning panels, but he was so bold as to ensure he sat on the rigged panel!

2) In this famously controversial case, for five months he hid from conservative judges who were about to semi-retire a petition asking that the case to be reviewed en banc by all judges (except those who are semi-retired), revealing it only after the judges had semi-retired

[Notwithstanding]

Here's what I get out of it:

---

"Alleged" abuses of judicial office committed by 6th Circuit Chief Judge Martin:

1) Not only did he ignore the court's SOP for assigning panels, but he was so bold as to ensure he sat on the rigged panel!

2) In this famously controversial case, for five months he hid from conservative judges who were about to semi-retire a petition asking that the case to be reviewed en banc by all judges (semi-retired judges do not participate in en banc rviews)), revealing it only after the judges had semi-retired

[Warren]

RIGHT! This is so blatently fixed I can't see how it is not national news. Can you imagine if a conservative had done the same thing?? Dems would be screaming, black 'leaders' would scream outrage.

[Reagan is King]

Apparently this Chief Justice Boyce F. Martin has a history of possible misconduct:

JUDICIAL HALL OF SHAME:

Just what you'd expect from a Carter appointed liberal judge.

*********
BTW, I found this when tracking down info on "Justice" Martin:
***********

More on affirmative action

Stewart Taylor of National Journal has a fantastic column on the 6th Circuit's affirmative action decision. He predicts that the Supreme Court will use this case to end affirmative action in higher education:

The majority opinion, written by Boyce F. Martin Jr., the Carter-appointed chief judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit, upheld racial preferences in admissions at the University of Michigan Law School. This opinion, supported by four Clinton appointees, came despite the fact that the court's fifth Clinton appointee, Judge Ronald Lee Gilman, described these preferences in dissent as a "de facto quota" that give such "grossly disproportionate weight to race and ethnicity" as to violate a seminal 1978 Supreme Court precedent. Reagan-appointed Judge Danny J. Boggs dissented more forcefully, joined by Judges Alice M. Batchelder and Eugene E. Siler Jr., both appointees of the first President Bush.

A prediction: The Supreme Court will almost certainly reverse the 6th Circuit decision, Grutter v. Bollinger -- which conflicts squarely with a 1996 decision by the 5th Circuit called Hopwood v. State of Texas -- and will strike down the blatant preferences used by the law school. It may well do so on narrow grounds, leaving undisturbed the less egregious racial preferences that have become pervasive at selective universities across the nation. But it might also issue a broad ban on all, or almost all, such racial preferences in admissions, as the 6th Circuit dissenters (excepting Gilman) would have done.

He also elaborates on John Fund's point about the dirty dealings by the Chief Judge:

In a detailed "procedural appendix," Boggs and Batchelder strongly implied that Chief Judge Martin had manipulated the handling of the appeal to keep it from going to the full court until after two other Bush appointees had retired last summer. (If both had participated and sided with Boggs, the vote would have been 6-5 to strike down the preference program instead of 5-4 to uphold it.) This implication provoked Clinton-appointed Judge Karen Nelson Moore to accuse Boggs and Batchelder of a "shameful" breach of confidentiality that "marks a new low point in the history of the 6th Circuit." She said that this breach would "severely undermine public confidence in this court" and "irreparably damage the already strained working relationships among the judges."

Link

[William McKinley]

Earlier posting of the same article here.

[Notwithstanding]

Hey Judge Karen: Its not the "breach" (aka exposing Judge Martin's gross misconduct) that will undermine public confidence in the court (and who wants to have oblivious confidence in a fraudulent corrupt court), its Judge Martin's reprehensible judicial conduct.

[Van Jenerette]

..for class.

[Right Wing Professor]

Incidentally, there was an article on the Michigan case in last Sunday's NYTimes. I didn't post it, because the argument was simply lame; Jeffrey Rosen urged upholding AA, because he thought universities would eliminate what remaining standards they have rather than give up proportional admission of minorities. However, Rosen also noted that he'd run into Sandra Day O Connor at a reception for an African jurist, and O Connor's reaction to the jurist's thesis of 'permanent AA' led him to believe O Connor, the swing vote, was going to come down against AA.

Let's keep a good thought. The local rag has already asked that I be on hand to provide a 'reaction'. Hope it's WHOOP! YAY! ALLELUIA! YIPPEE!

[GreatOne]

The thing that is really stupid about this is that it should not matter if there are "conservative" judges on the bench or "liberal" ones. G--damn FDR and his court-packing scheme is to thank for this. Since then, people have treated the bench like it is another political body, and we all know where that has taken us.

[aristeides]

"The question is, what ought the Supreme Court do given what has happened? The case was fixed and the Supreme Court has a case before it that got there through judicial misconduct," said Thomas Fitton, president of Judicial Watch. "What action is the Supreme Court going to take to protect its own integrity?"

The Supreme Court can issue a blistering criticism of Judge Boyce Martin appended to its opinion, the way Judge Boggs did.

[Notwithstanding]

And here is a story that highlights how U-M lied about there sociolgy data that supposdly props up their claim that forced diversity is good for everyone:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/919827/posts?page=2#2

[aristeides]

Well, with this judicial opinion, the Jayson Blair business, and the discrediting of the NY Times, the stars seem to be lining up to favor a Supreme Court decision striking down affirmative action.

[colorado tanker]

She said that this breach would "severely undermine public confidence in this court"

Don't worry about that, babe; that horse left the barn a long time ago.

[adam_az]

President Carter's legacy lives on and on and on and on......

Ah, the gift that keeps on giving.

Oops my mistake, that would be herpes, not Carter.

[Reagan is King]

She said that this breach would "severely undermine public confidence in this court"

And with the lack of consequences it's no wonder it keeps happening:

"I have never heard of a complaint filed against the chief judge of a court of this nature that has been successful.

This is what undermines my confidence!

[LiteKeeper]

Law SPOTREP