Revelations of Convicted Judge’s Brain Damage, Bipolar Disorder Spur New Hearing Requests

U.S. Attorney Sally Yates says she won’t oppose new hearing requests by defendants sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jack Camp when he was using marijuana, cocaine and a prescription opiate.

So far, five out of 16 defendants sentenced during that period have sought new hearings, and at least one has received a lesser sentence, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. “But the thorny question remains,” the story says. “Should a review be conducted of Camp’s decisions dating to 2000, when a bicycling accident damaged the frontal lobe of his brain?”

Camp’s brain damage and undiagnosed bipolar disorder were disclosed after he was accused of helping a stripper buy drugs. The former judge pleaded guilty and was sentenced earlier this month to 30 days in jail.

Yates told the Journal-Constitution that she will consider defense requests that call into question Camp’s judgment “to ensure that justice is served.”

Meanwhile, a second issue has surfaced as a result of Camp’s prosecution, the story says. Camp allegedly told the stripper that he struggled in cases involving black defendants because of her former relationship with a black man. The Federal Defender Office is planning a new trial request for one defendant who claims Camp was racially biased.