Senate accepts articles of impeachment for federal judge News
Senate accepts articles of impeachment for federal judge

[JURIST] The US Senate [official website] began the impeachment trial process [press release] for Judge Samuel Kent [official profile] Wednesday for alleged "high crimes and misdemeanors" after accepting the articles of impeachment [text, PDF] from the US House of Representatives [official website]. Senate leaders established a bipartisan committee to prepare for the upcoming impeachment trial. The judge for the US District Court for the Southern District of Texas [official profile] is being impeached on allegations of sexually harassing his secretary and case manager, obstructing a judicial proceeding by making false statements, and making false and misleading statements to federal agents during his investigation. The House approved the articles [JURIST report] last week to no opposition. Kent is the first federal judge to be impeached in 20 years and only the thirteenth federal judge to be impeached.

Earlier this month, Kent sent a letter of resignation [JURIST report] to President Barack Obama that would be effective June 2010, allowing him to collect his salary until then. In May, Kent pleaded guilty [JURIST report] to obstruction of justice in a plea agreement [text, PDF] that prevented him from facing a criminal trial. Following his plea, he was sentenced [JURIST report] to 33 months in prison and ordered to pay a $1,000 fine and $6,500 in restitution.

THIS DAY @ LAW

UN General Assembly approves Palestine partition plan

The UN General Assembly approved UN Resolution Resolution 181 (II) on November 29, 1947, recommending that the British Mandate for Palestine be split into a Jewish state, an Arab state, and an international zone for Jerusalem. The vote in the assembly was 33 for to 13 against, with 10 abstentions. The resolution sparked a war between Palestinian Arabs and Jews in 1947 and a wider war after Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, and Lebanon invaded the new State of Israel in 1948. Read Resolution 181 (II).

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