Legal Ethics
Probe of Federal Judge Expands to Include House Sale to Lawyer
Posted Jul 21, 2008, 04:52 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A Justice Department investigation of U.S. District Judge Samuel Kent now includes allegations he failed to report benefits he received from the sale of his Galveston home in a deal arranged by a lawyer with dozens of cases in his court, the Houston Chronicle reports.
Kent sold the home to the mother of lawyer Kurt Arnold for $339,500 and paid Arnold a reduced commission of $5,000, the newspaper says. The commission was $15,370 less than the standard 6 percent fee he would have paid for a typical house sale involving two real estate agents, the newspaper says.
The story says the issue is whether Arnold’s help was a gift that should have been disclosed, or whether the home sale constituted a conflict of interest, the story says.
Kent's lawyer, Dick DeGuerin, told the Chronicle the deal was legitimate and Kent had done nothing improper. He said investigators are leaving no stone unturned because a federal judge "is a big pelt." Arnold’s lawyer said his client had not violated any laws.
The probe began after a female employee claimed Kent had sexually harassed her. In January it expanded to determine whether lawyers appearing before Kent treated the judge to meals at restaurants.
Hat tip to How Appealing.
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