Racist Email Judge Apologizes To Obama

[ProSense]

Racist Email Judge Apologizes To Obama

By Ian Millhiser

In the wake of the revelation that he sent a racist email suggesting that President Obama’s mother had sex with a dog, Montana federal judge Richard Cebull wrote a letter of apology to the president:

I sincerely and profusely apologize to you and your family for the email I forwarded. I accept full responsibility; I have no one to blame but myself.

I can assure you that such action on my part will never happen again. I have requested that the Judicial Council of the Ninth Circuit review this matter.

Honestly, I don’t know what else I can do. Please forgive me and, again, my most sincere apology.

Cebull deserves credit for handling the aftermath of this incident like an adult, and there is no reason to doubt that he is genuinely contrite. Nevertheless, no amount of mere remorse can erase the stain his actions have placed on the federal judiciary.

No matter how apologetic Cebull may feel, the fact remains that his job is to exercise judgment, and he showed abysmally poor judgment by sending this email in the first place. As the commentary to the Code of Conduct for U.S. Judges instructs “[a] judge must expect to be the subject of constant public scrutiny and accept freely and willingly restrictions that might be viewed as burdensome by the ordinary citizen”

Worse, the fact remains that Cebull didn’t just show terrible judgment, he showed terrible judgment by endorsing a joke that any reasonable person would have viewed as offensive and unacceptable. Cebull’s email suggested that having sex with a black man is akin to having sex with a dog. The fact that he was not immediately disturbed by this email raises very real questions about whether he can impartially apply the law in race discrimination cases.

- more -

http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/03/02/436187/racist-email-judge-apologizes-to-obama/

[ohheckyeah]

1. It makes one wonder

how many other racist judges are sitting on the bench and how much it contributes to the fact that black men are more likely to go to prison than white men.

[atreides1]

2. "Honestly, I don’t know what else I can do."

Resign, you racist putz!

[yardwork]

3. The apology is good, but he still can't continue to be a judge.

Sometimes sorry isn't good enough. This man has proven himself to be unfit to sit in judgement on people. Nobody will ever trust him not to make a racist judgement. He needs to find another type of job.

[ProSense]

6. He needs to resign. n/t

[Ikonoklast]

4. I hope every woman and person of color that had a case before that asshole files an appeal

based on the extreme prejudice and lack of judgment on the part of that judge against both women and minorities.


His carreer is finished, there is no saving it, he will retire in disgrace.

[TBF]

5. And the 9th Circuit is usually my favorite

given that I'm stuck down here in the 5th you can imagine why ...

Here is a story about how he has filed a complaint against himself: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/02/10561071-judge-in-montana-initiates-complaint-against-himself-over-offensive-obama-joke

I hope President Obama responds to his letter of apology with this: Judge Cebull, I'd prefer your resignation.

[bullwinkle428]

7. Obama needs to request his balls on a platter, like he did with McChrystal.