Legal Ethics
Ex-Judge Disbarred for Using Penis Pump During Trials
Posted Sep 24, 2008, 09:55 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A former Oklahoma judge convicted for using a penis pump while presiding over trials has been disbarred.
The Oklahoma Supreme Court said Judge Donald Thompson brought discredit on the judiciary and the legal profession by his conduct, and a severe sanction was warranted, the Oklahoman reports.
Thompson had been convicted on four counts of indecent exposure and sentenced in August 2006 to four years in prison. He served 20 months and was suspended from law practice, the Associated Press reports.
The opinion by Supreme Court Justice John Reif noted that no mitigating evidence was presented to explain the conduct, and it happened on four separate occasions. "Furthermore, his conduct displayed a complete abdication of judgment," Reif wrote.
"His criminal behavior is not only socially unacceptable, but is an affront to the judicial branch of government and the legal profession," the opinion said.
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