A federal judge at the height of Texas’ legal system has given the time-honored tradition of impeachment an entirely new meaning.
The U.S. House of Representatives last week unanimously voted to impeach Judge Samuel Kent, of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas in Galveston, on four counts of sexually assaulting two female employees while in a drunken stupor and lying to federal investigators about it.
Kent, a graduate of UT and its law school, struck a plea deal in February on the eve of a trial concerning a total of six counts, including serious charges of sexual abuse. Had Kent been convicted on all counts earlier this year, he could have faced life in prison, according to the New York Times.
Instead, the 59-year-old judge pleaded guilty to one count of obstruction of justice in what his lawyer, Houston attorney Dick DeGuerin, called a “compromise settlement” for all parties involved.
Last month, the judge was sentenced to 33 months in federal prison and ordered to enroll in an alcohol abuse program. He reported to a Massachusetts prison last week to begin serving his sentence.
Though it seems like most of Kent’s legal troubles are settled for now, one of the most appalling remnants of the entire matter – second to the sexual assaults – remains unabated.
As part of his February plea deal, Kent agreed to resign from his office in 2010 — a move that would allow him to collect his $174,000 annual salary in prison.
Since federal judges can only be removed from office through Congressional action, Kent continues to receive his judicial salary. The judge’s conviction via impeachment would immediately force him off the bench and halt this gross injustice.
Kent, nominated to the court by President George H. W. Bush in 1990, must now face an all-but-certain conviction in the U.S. Senate.
Influential senators from both parties – including Texas’ own Sen. John Cornyn, a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee – have roundly denounced the judge’s actions and have called for a speedy trial, which will likely occur before the Senate recesses in August.
Every dimension of this case disturbs our sensibilities. The damage done to our state and university will remain for years to come.
Kent’s actions have shamed UT and its law school on the national stage. We are also reminded of the urgent need to address gender inequality in workplaces across the state and nation — an issue highlighted in UT’s Gender Equality Task Force Report released last year.
According to the report, 14 percent of UT’s female faculty members said they have been subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. A culture in which sexual harassment is accepted or unreported — whether committed under the influence of alcohol or not — poses a danger to all of society.
Kent’s actions should remind the University to place gender equity at the top of its to-do list in the fall.
We are used to incompetent cronies and absent-minded fools ruling in the political and legal circles in Texas. But Texans deserve federal judges of a higher caliber than Kent to hear cases that so often touch the core of criminal and civil rights across the state.
There is no doubt a swift conviction and the complete revocation of all rights and privileges that come with a coveted federal judgeship are in order for Kent. The University and the state can then move on.
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