It seems the court system just can't get its collective act together... or maybe they just can't win.
A few days ago, the Supreme court basically defined the concept of private property out of existence. (not without receiving at least a little real world flak over the decision) It shouldn't surprise too many folk that the SC has been harshly criticized for the maneuver...
... but it also seems that, sometimes, a judge is just plain doomed to criticism, even for doing their jobs the way they're supposed to.
Submitted for your approval, Federal District Judge Karon Bowdre. You might remember her, she was the judge who got, in random assignment, the trial of Richard Scrushy; CEO of HealthSouth; for a $2.7 billion overstatement on earnings.
In the current climate, one might think that simply being a corporate wheel that got called into court in the first place made a conviction almost a slam-dunk. Certainly big corporations have been the 'evil du jour' for the media for quite a while, right behind the President, though occasionally being edged out by the odd celebrity trial, firearm crime, or manufactured story. (hey, if you can't find something, make up something, it'll sound just as good) This time, however, it didn't quite work out that way.
In a somewhat surprising result, Scrushy was cleared of all counts against him. As some folk would have it, this one, like another media-circus trial recently, was all about witness credibility.
But the judge herself is now taking heat, in part because there was, in the past, a non-professional relationship between the judge and the wife of the defendant.
So why is someone sticking up for the judge?
She offered to entertain motions to remove herself from the case, but neither side took her up on it. Perhaps the prosecution wanted an exit strategy,,, should things not go as planned?
