Access to Justice :: Journals

The Americas

In Brooklyn, New York, Judge is Nabbed for Sleaze
A concealed camera in Judge Gerald Garson's office that filmed him receiving money and Dominican Cigars from a lawyer has thrown up yet another bribery scandal in Brooklyn Courts, considered by watchdog groups to be one of America's most corrupt court systems.

Earlier, a man had approached a woman, a party to a lawsuit to tell her that with a little money, the judge's decision could be influenced in a custody case that she feared losing. And though the judge has denied charges that he received “money and gifts in exchange for preferential treatment”, explaining instead that he was only ‘fraternizing' with the lawyer, Kings County District Attorney, Charles Hynes brought a bribery charge against Judge Garson. He said more would come.

The bribery scandal has prompted full investigations into judicial corruption in Brooklyn Courts. The investigations are expected to prompt reforms in the procedure for appointing judges in Brooklyn, which Ken Jockers, Executive Director of the Committee for Modern Courts has described as limiting the “independence of the judiciary, injecting politics, cash and partisanship into the judicial system.” Opinions have been expressed that the investigations may provide models for nationwide reforms.

In Atlanta, Accused Person Kills Judge, during Trial, and Bolts – March 11, 2005
Brian Nichol's trial for rape charges was about to get underway when he suddenly wrestled a gun from a sheriff and aimed a fatal shot at Judge Rowland Barnes. Before Nichols escaped in a stolen car, he left two other court officials dead and punched his way through a news reporter. Following the killings, other Judges in the Courthouse locked themselves up in their chambers for fear of becoming Brians' next victims. Judge Barnes' brutal and untimely death is troubling and will probably point to the need to provide better protection for Judges.

In Chicago, Judge's Family Members Are Murdered After She Throws Out Litigant's Suit for Damages – February 28, 2005
Bart Ross, described by federal Judge Joan Humphrey Lefkow as “a very pathetic, tragic person” became embittered after Judge Lefkow dismissed his claim for $1b as damages for cancer treatments that left his face disfigured. Her reason? Ross' lawsuit was a rambling lawsuit. Although Judge Lefkow's decision was subsequently upheld on appeal, Ross was not done. Reasoning that the U.S. judicial system had denied his right to redress, he decided to take it out on someone in the system. And that someone would be Judge Lefkow who started it all. In cold blood, Ross murdered Lefkow's husband and mother and later shot himself in an unrelated incident.

Although initial investigations into the killings focussed on the white supremacist movement – Matt Hale, a member of the movement was convicted in 2004 for urging Judge Lefkow's murder - DNA tests on a cigar butt the killer left at the crime scene have linked Ross with the killings. And though heartbroken, Judge Lefkow is relieved to know that the white supremacist movement did not execute the killings because her children will be a lot safer. Judge Lefkow and her five daughters were taken into protective custody.

In Brazil, Judge Turns Self in After Fleecing Judiciary - March 2005
After seven months on the run, Brazilian Judge, Nicolau Dos Santos Neto has surrendered to the authorities. The judge eloped when investigators inquiring into the disappearance of $93m meant for the construction of a new courthouse closed in on him. Media reports suggest that the Brazilian Judge lived a high profile life, owned a fleet of expensive cars, a posh apartment in Miami and bank accounts around the world.

Asia

In India, State Goes Real Tough as it Dismisses 22 Corrupt Judges – September 2004
The Government of the Indian State of Madhya Pradesh has shifted its anti-corruption drive into new gear, sweeping away twenty-two corrupt judges in the process. The purge represents Madhya Pradesh's biggest anti-corruption exercise. The Chief Minister has signified that it is only the beginning and many more judicial officers found to be corrupt will suffer the same fate.

Africa

Cleaning the Augean Stables (Kenya) – October 2003
Investigations have revealed that corruption in the Kenyan Judiciary has reached monstrous proportions. However, President Mwai Kibaki is taking unusually bold steps to stamp it out.

Nearly half of the country's appeal court and high court judges (23 of 53) and about a third of its magistrates (80 of more than 200) were found to have taken bribes from lawyers and litigants. Already, efforts at combating what Judge Aaron Ringera metaphorically describes as a dragon has seen to the suspension of the 23 corrupt judges. A tribunal has been set up to investigate their conduct. Some 10 magistrates have either been removed for corruption or incompetence or have resigned, while more than 50 clerks and other judiciary staff have been sacked also for corrupt practices.

Corruption Plague in Judiciary (Mozambique)
The Attorney-General of Mozambique has admitted that his country's judiciary is plagued by corruption. In his annual report to the parliament, the Attorney-General accuses lawyers, judges, police officers and prisons officials of corruption, incompetence and abuse of power. He cites as example the case of a judge who sentenced a convict to a 12 month jail term but subsequently reduced it to two months after a ‘tete-a-tete' with the convict's relative. The Attorney-General however failed to mention specific names in his report.

“In many countries, survey suggest that the public regard their judiciaries as hopelessly corrupt” (TI Source Book 2000: 60)

“An ethical system should have a personal and professional code; it should have a written system of ethics, and it should have a mechanism for enforcing them - Justice Anthony Kennedy, US Supreme Court Justice, Judicial Ethics and the Rule of Law