http://www.courthousenews.com/2010/01/04/23297.htm NASHVILLE (CN) - A judge in Dickson County, Tenn., had officers pull a spectator out of his courtroom "on a hunch," held him in custody and made him submit to a urinalysis for drugs, the man claims in Federal Court. Benjamin Marchant claims that General Sessions Judge Durwood Moore admitted that he "routinely drug-screens 'spectators' in his courtroom if he 'thinks' they may be under the influence of drugs or alcohol." Moore allegedly called it the "routine policy of the court." Marchant says he was in Moore's courtroom supporting a friend, when Moore ordered officers to take him into custody. They grabbed Marchant, allegedly without any evidence of illegal behavior, and took him to a different place in the courthouse where he was made to submit to a drug screen urinalysis. He was released from custody when the results came back negative. In response to Marchant's judicial ethics complaint, Moore allegedly said that plucking suspicious spectators from his courtroom and screening them for drugs was "the routine policy of the court." Moore acknowledged he had violated Marchant's rights and was censured by the Tennessee Supreme Court's Judiciary Court on May 1, 2009, the highest form of punishment short of seeking a judge's removal from the bench, according to the complaint. The court ordered Moore to "never violate a person's constitutional rights as he did to the Plaintiff," the complaint states/ Marchant also sued the officers who took him into custody, stating: "Only a plainly incompetent officer or a knowing participant would have taken place in such unlawful and unconstitutional procedures." In Marchant's view, "the facts of the case are not subject to dispute or else the Defendant, Durwood Moore, would have disputed them when his career as a judge was in jeopardy." He wants punitive damages for denial of his due process rights, outrageous conduct, violation of the Tennessee Human Rights Act, assault and battery and false imprisonment.
He should have been removed from the bench for that. He should be held to the highest standards of the laws and the Constitution.
Wow, what a complete idiot. Not too surprised, however. I have been an attorney for 27 years and have seen many, many judges who thought they were God Almighty.
Agreed. I believe that to be THE most dangerous aspect of our criminal justice system today. It's just human nature. But to suppose that judges will not succumb to the power they are given is simply a pipe dream. It happens to everyone, and I mean everyone. I'd be hard pressed to name any person who hasn't. The only one who comes to mind at the moment is George Washington, boy......what he passed up. Took either a Saint, or a man of incredible character. Something judges seem very lacking in. A lot of good judges out there, but those who are bad can really throw a monkey wrench into things. As a police officer for over twenty years it's something I've thought of, and I came to the decision that I'd take a contempt charge before I'd carry out an illegal order. Something most young officers don't do I guess. I don't see very many actually knowing or understanding the limits of their power now a days, officers nor judges. It may have more to do with the ego than common sense. Too bad.
Oh, you very STRENUOUSLY object! What the flip. What's the next punishment on the ladder of discipline - calling his mommy?? He shoulda been fired and disbarred. The fact that he's DONE THIS BEFORE and no one seemed to call him on it raises tons of red flags.
Dickson County is pretty rural; an hour or so southwest of Nashville, Dickson County's largest city is Dickson but the County Seat is the little town of Charlotte. The NE end of the county, closer to Nashville, is full of the large affluent houses of those that commute to Nashville to work, get past the City of Dickson and further out and it becomes VERY rural. The County Judge is likely a good ol' boy local lawyer who worked his way into the bench. "The way we've always done it" holds a heck of a lot more water there than the legal precedent the court is supposed to uphold. The same "way we've always done it" holds true for how they run the city and emergency services, sadly. I agree that what he was doing is wrong. But chances are he found a way to scare those coming to support defendants from showing up high and/or drunk, it just burned him this time.
He should not only be removed from the bench, but disbarred for life to ensure that never again will he play any role in the justice system.
