Courts

Fifth Circuit Benchslaps Federal Judge Who's A Repeat Offender

Judge Hughes strikes again.

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Above the Law has been writing about Judge Lynn Hughes since 2012. That should give you a sense of the kind of wild card (read: shockingly inappropriate) character we’re dealing with here. In the latest incident, the Fifth Circuit has not only reached out and benchslapped Hughes, reversing his decision, but also taken the extra step of removing the case from his courtroom.

As reported by Law.com, the decision comes in Miller v. Sam Houston State University, in which plaintiff Audrey Miller is alleging discrimination claims against two different university systems, Sam Houston State University and the University of Houston Downtown. Miller had her claims dismissed by Judge Hughes, sua sponte, and told plaintiff’s lawyer he would “get credit for two cases when I crush you.” The Fifth Circuit made the bold move of reversing, remanding, and removing the case on appeal.

As you might imagine, plaintiff’s attorney was quite pleased with the end result, particularly that the case will move forward in another courtroom:

“I was really thrilled that they did that. It’s always a fear that you appeal, and end up in the same court,” said Houston lawyer Terrence Robinson, whose client Audrey Miller will now have a chance to press her civil rights claims against Sam Houston State University, the University of Houston Downtown and the two university systems that run those schools.

….

“The way that he handles the cases makes it sometimes impossible for a plaintiff to present their claims and get a fair hearing,” said Robinson, managing member in TB Robinson Law Group. “Anyone who goes in there, on whatever side he doesn’t like, has the same experience.”

Though this is a great result for Miller, this is far from the only issue in Hughes’s courtroom. Austin attorney Jim Harrington called Hughes “the most intemperate judge that I have ever been in front of. In open court, you just never knew what he was going to say, or who he was going to embarrass, whether you or the other side.” Harrington filed an ethics complaint against Hughes in 2013, but says nothing ever came from it.

In the past, Hughes has been admonished for his racial insensitivity, has called the DOJ “sons of bitches” on the record, and has been called out — repeatedly — for sexist comments. Wonder when the Fifth Circuit will mete out a harsher consequence.

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headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

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