Order "burp" in the court!

Cobb judge charged with drunken driving
By LATEEF MUNGIN
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 02/11/05

Cobb County Superior Court Judge Ken Nix was arrested early Friday in Lawrenceville and charged with drunken driving, police said.

The 65-year-old judge was arrested at 1 a.m. after he was noticed weaving in and out of lanes on Ga. 316 near Collins Hill Road, Lawrenceville police said.

Nix's blood-alcohol level tested at 0.10 percent, above the state's legal limit of 0.08, said Lawrenceville police Capt. Greg Vaughn. Nix, who was driving a 2001 Pontiac Montana, was also charged with failure to maintain lane, Vaughn said.

The police report was not available Friday because the arresting officer had not finished it, but Vaughn said he had spoken to one of the officers involved in the arrest.

"He told me that Mr. Nix was extremely cooperative and acted very professionally," Vaughn said.

Nix, who has a Smryna address, was taken to the Gwinnett jail and was released several hours later after posting a $1,328 bond, according to the sheriff's department. The judge did not return a phone call to his office this afternoon.

Nix was appointed Cobb Superior Court Judge by Gov. Zell Miller in 1995. Before that he served as a State Court judge for 12 years, according to the Cobb County Superior Court Web site.

He was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives from 1973-1982 and was the first Cobb Republican to serve more than one term in the House.

On Jan. 5, Nix was selected to swear in the members of the 2005 General Assembly.

Quis Custodiet ipsos custodes. Who shall guard the guards but the guards themselves?

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - Jurors and others in Judge Donald Thompson's
courtroom kept hearing a strange whooshing noise, like a bicycle pump
or maybe a blood pressure cuff.

During one trial, Thompson seemed so distracted some jurors thought he
was playing a hand-held video game or tying fly-fishing lures behind
the bench. The explanation, investigators said, is even stranger than
some imagined: the judge had a habit of masturbating with a penis pump
under his robe during trials.

The lurid allegations have led to criminal charges against Thompson,
brought an embarrassing end to a solid career and shocked many of his
colleagues. The case could also lead to a wave of appeals from
defendants claiming the judge was not paying attention while presiding
over their cases.

Thompson, a 58-year-old married father of three grown children, has
denied the allegations and said the pump was just a gag gift received
from a hunting buddy on his 50th birthday. He retired in August after
being threatened with removal from the bench but still faces
indecent-exposure charges brought against him last month.

"We're certainly saddened by the thought that the prosecutor filed
charges," said Clark Brewster, Thompson's lawyer.

"We thought all this was dealt with when he resigned. We didn't feel
like anything that was alleged rose to the level of criminal charges."

The trials during which he allegedly used the pump included murder
cases, as well as a libel suit in which a jury ordered the company that
publishes the Oklahoman newspaper, a website and a TV station to pay
$3.7 million.

Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson, who filed the paperwork to
remove Thompson from the bench, said he would be surprised if the
scandal did not lead to appeals. But he said: "I don't know if they
will be successful. They will still have to show actual prejudice to
the point that something was done in error."

Jim Wall, police chief in the small town Sapulpa, said he had heard
rumours of the judge's behind-the-bench activities for about a month
but added: "You've got the most powerful man in Creek County and I
think a lot people were intimidated by him."

Police built a case against the judge after one of Wall's officers
testified during a 2003 murder trial. From the witness stand, the
officer saw a piece of plastic tubing disappear under Thompson's robe.
During a lunch break, officers took photographs of the pump under the
desk.

Investigators later collected carpet samples, Thompson's robes and the
chair from behind the bench and found semen, court records showed.

A former state legislator and a judge with more than 20 years on the
bench in Creek County in eastern Oklahoma, Thompson was well-liked in
the community and had helped many young prosecutors and judges learn
their jobs. But those who know him said he had become withdrawn in the
last few years.

Thompson's court reporter, Lisa Foster, told authorities she saw him
use the pump at least 10 times during trials. She said the first time
in court was in 2000 but she did not tell authorities.

"I didn't want to be found dead in a ditch somewhere," she said.

Foster told authorities she saw Thompson use the device almost daily
during the August 2003 murder trial of Kevin Vomberg, a man accused of
shaking a toddler to death. The case ended in a hung jury. The
whooshing sound could be heard on Foster's audiotape of the trial.

When jurors at the trial asked the judge about the sound, Thompson said
he hadn't heard it but would listen for it.

Foster and a bailiff were fired by Thompson after giving statements
against him.

"I always thought he was an excellent trial judge," said Don Nelson,
who tried more than 40 cases before Thompson as the prosecutor assigned
to his court.

Nelson handled a murder trial during which authorities said Thompson
used the pump. The jury ended up convicting the defendant on the lesser
charge of manslaughter.

"I never heard anything that was going on," Nelson said.

"I was completely shocked and couldn't believe it."

??????? my post pales by comparison lol, lol, ha ha, and ha ha some more. most judges and attornies are on drugs anyway, the coot probably on crack also, probably what made him masturbate in public.

The funny part is an old coot ensconced upon the ivory throne of justice, appearing to be a fountain of wisdom while dispensng law and order and whackin' it off at the same. One COULD call it a MARRIAGE OF CONVENIENCE. LOL!

The saddest part is that the potential whistle blower, the court reporter obviously knew how the courts work. She was afraid if she said anything that she would end up in a ditch. Who knows if her fear was valid?

Thompson's court reporter, Lisa Foster, told authorities she saw him
use the pump at least 10 times during trials. She said the first time
in court was in 2000 but she did not tell authorities.

"I didn't want to be found dead in a ditch somewhere," she said.

Foster told authorities she saw Thompson use the device almost daily
during the August 2003 murder trial of Kevin Vomberg, a man accused of
shaking a toddler to death. The case ended in a hung jury. The
whooshing sound could be heard on Foster's audiotape of the trial.

[charlesa6]

The federal,state,county,and others are not doing background check some sort on this judges before they put them on the bench to serve public or what. Do you ever wonder why peoples don't win their case in court? The judge in front of you,might having a good time and you coming in to disturb is erotic moment of his life. What do you expect from bazzare judges?Zippo!!!!. Guilty as charged.