Judiciary
Judge Decides ‘Media Frenzy’ After Arrest Doesn’t Require Him to Quit
Posted Apr 3, 2008, 04:55 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A well-respected Boston bankruptcy judge is reconsidering his decision to resign after a flurry of publicity about the circumstances of his arrest for drunken driving.
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Somma had submitted his resignation after media reports that he was wearing a cocktail dress and high heels at the time of his arrest. He later pleaded no contest to driving under the influence.
Somma’s lawyer, Robert Carpenter, told the Boston Globe that hundreds of lawyers had written letters supporting his client. Somma said in a letter to Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly that the encouragement had changed his mind about resigning.
“That outpouring of support has led me conclude, contrary to my initial belief, that the media frenzy occasioned by this episode would not be an impediment to my continued service as a judge," Somma wrote.
He is currently in discussions with the Boston-based 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals about his status as a judge.
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