[Photocopied Dallas Times Herald clipping: Lawyers file petition to remove Hampton] Part: 3 of 4
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Judicial Conduct; and prove that
"Judge Hampton cannot be fair,
and impartial and should be re-I
)noved from office."
"There's no doubt the integrity;
"of the judiciary was compro-j
mised by his statements. There's
just no question," said one of the'
"signers, attorney Don Maison.
Hampton, 56, has served on
;the local felony bench since his'
appointment by Gov. Bill Clem-i
ents in 1981. He has -lefused to
,speak with reporters since issue'
ing a public apology for his re-
marks on Dec. 22, and declined
Thursday to comment on the pe-
'bition.
However, a defense attorney,
"who said he attended the pro-
cedings "to see who the.traitors
are," defended Hampton's record
*a- a fair and impartial jurist.
"Sometimes [Hampton] opens
his mouth when he shouldn't,
but I think it's unfair to let one
'ljiistake ruin him," said attorney
;Jphn Read. "If I thought [Hamp-;
-on's remarks] would affect his;
:bility as a judge, I'd be right
2Jiere with [the lawyers filing the,
Spptition]. But he's as fair as they;
'come down here."
While the judicial conduct
commission, which meets again
today, will continue its investiga-
tion of Hampton, the petition is a
more direct route to achieving a
judge's ouster and could bring
much faster results.
Under constitutional law, the
uprem 'Court must undertake
an immediate review of the alle-
gations and quickly 'determine
whether it will dismiss the-case
or appoint a special master to
hear testimony on the matter,
court officials said. If the master
found grounds for Hampton's re-
moval, the Supreme Court could
order it immediately, officials
said. All hearings and decisions
would be public.
The commission, on the other
hand, is in the midst of a secretreview that could take months,
said commission executive direc-
tor Robert Flowers. If the com-
mission found grounds for
Hampton's removal, it would
have to refer the case to a special
master, whose decision would
have to be approved by the Su-
preme Court.
Besides, Dallas Gay Alliance
President William Waybourn
said,- the . commission long has
been condemned by civil rights
groups as ineffectual, having re-
moved only two judges from the
bench in its 34-year history.
"We have little faith,". Way-
bourn said. "[The commission's]
track record is not the best in the
world."
The petition, on the other
hand, largely is untested, having
been used only- once. State Dis-
trict Judge C. Woodrow Laughlin'
was removed from office on!
March 17, 1954, for discharging a,
grand jury he feared, was about!
to indict his brother, a Jim Wells'
County Commissioner.
Laughlin was returned to the
bench by voters in the next elec-
tion, because, unlike judges re-
moved by the commission, judg-
es removed by the Supreme
Court are not permanently
barred from public.office.
The constitution provides for a*
district judge "who is incompe-
tent ... guilty of partiality or op-f
pression, or other official miscon-
duct" to be removed from office
by the Supreme Court upon the'
request of at least 10 attorneys;
"practicing in the courts held by,
such judge and licensed to prac-
tice in the Supreme Court."
It is unclear, officials said,
whether the lawyers signing the
petition must practice in Hamp-
ton's court or any district court.
Five of those who have signed soj
far have' practiced before Hamp-
ton, Waylourn said, and at least
five others are expected to sign'
before the document is sent toAustin on Monday.
In addition ,to Maison, - those
who signed Thursday are Syl 4
Ann Cantu;' icvil 'rights',laii
Henry John-sAlback; Thelma-}'
Sanders, pa0sl president ofAN"
J.L. Turner;L~egal' Association,
Pamela G.' ~Merrifield of 'the
AIDS Legal Clinic; Joshua Turiri
an immigration lawyer with
Catholic.; Charities; Michael
Yonk ;natorney with'; the
American:Jewish Congress;' Eliz-
abeth:K Julian an attorney with
DallasLegal 'Services; Edward B.
CloutmaXIII; M. William Nelson
the. Dallas Gay Alliance',s ttor
ney; criminal defense lawyer: Jer-:
ry Birdwell; Scott A. Wingeie;
and James C..Barber, who unsuc-
cessfully challenged Texas crimi-
nal laws against sodomy.
"Our goal is not to make Judge
Hampton a victim in this, but to
remember that two men were
murdered in Reverchon Park,
and they're entitled to equal pro-
tection under the law," Way-
bourn said. "To do nothing only
continues to make -us victims -.
and only 'encourages further the
ignorance, prejudice and violence'
that accompanied Richard Bed-
narski on his trip to Oak Lawn
that night, when he murdered
Tommy Lee Trimble and John
Lloyd Griffin."
Bednarski, whose friends testi-
fied that he was among a group
that had gone to Oak Lawn to
"pester the homosexuals" the
night Trimble, 34,. and Griffin,
27, were shot to death, was sen-
tenced to 30 years in prison for
the murders. He will be eligible
for parole in 7S years.
Also on Thursday, a coalition
of civil rights groups, including
the Central Texas Chapter of the
American Civil Liberties Union,
announced it will hold a rally in
Austin today 'to demand Hamp-
ton's removal by the judicial
commission..... . A
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Dallas Times Herald. [Photocopied Dallas Times Herald clipping: Lawyers file petition to remove Hampton], clipping, February 10, 1989; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc915830/m1/3/: accessed June 6, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting UNT Libraries Special Collections.