Judge Cornelius “Forget Brandenburg” Vaughey Formally Reprimanded
Remember Judge Cornelius Vaughey? He’s the judge who unconstitutionally found Aaron Walker had incited violence simply by blogging about convicted bomber and perjurer Brett Kimberlin. (The silly decision was later reversed.) Mark Steyn, in typically colorful language, said at the time: “Judge Vaughey comes across as a near parodic combination of bluster, ignorance and narcissism.” Steyn cited a transcript which revealed that Vaughey had casually brushed aside over 40 years’ worth of Supreme Court precedent, and suggested that personal squabbles should be handled by a fistfight:
THE COURT: –You’ve decided to battle, and he comes back. And see, you’re — you — you’re the kind of guy, you don’t want to get into this to settle this, mano y mano. You want to get all these friends who got nothing else to do with their time, in this judge’s opinion, because — my God, I’m a little bit older than you are, and I haven’t got enough time in the day to do all the things I want to do. And I thought by retirement, I would have less to do. I got more! Because everybody knows I’m free! So they all come to me. But you, you are starting a — a conflagration, for lack of a better word, and you’re just letting the thing go recklessly no matter where it goes. I mean, you get some — and I’m going to use word I (ph) — freak somewhere up Oklahoma, got nothing better to do with his time, so he does the nastiest things in the world he can do to this poor gentleman. What right has that guy got to do it?
WALKER: He has no right to do that, Your Honor.
THE COURT: Well, he’s — you incited him.
WALKER: But, your honor, I did not incite him within the Brandenburg standard though.
THE COURT: Forget Bradenburg [sic]. Let’s go by Vaughey right now, and common sense out in the world. But you know, where I grew up in Brooklyn, when that stuff was pulled, it was settled real quickly.
WALKER: I’m not sure what that means, your honor.
THE COURT: –Very quickly. And I’m not going to talk about those ways, but boy, it ended fast. I even can tell you, when I grew up in my community, you wanted to date an Italian girl, you had to get the Italian boy’s permission. But that was the old neighborhoods back in the city. And it was really fair. When someone did something up there to you, your sister, your girlfriend, you got some friends to take them for a ride in the back of the truck.
He sounds like a Trump voter, doesn’t he?
I always see the ideal judge as a guy who pines for the good old days when insults were avenged by kidnapping the offending party for the purpose of delivering a group beating.
Anyway, this charming old codger has now been formally reprimanded by the Maryland Commission on Judicial Disabilities, and you can read the reprimand here. It appears to center around Vaughey’s “impatient and disrespectful” attitude to Walker. Apparently, dismissing Supreme Court precedent with an airy wave of the hand, or suggesting that the proper way to handle matters was through a group assault, were less worthy of mention than Vaughey’s addressing Aaron Walker as “sport.” Still, the public reprimand is heartening to see.
If you’re looking to do (a lot) more reading on the background of this, Walker has the full backstory here.
He sounds like a Trump voter, doesn’t he?
Indicting the moon seems to be the prevailing trait of the #NeverTrumps.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/28/2016 @ 5:50 amLet me another go.
There are commenters here, particularly in California, who have the long held belief that law enforcement’s main duty is to protect the accused from the public. If there is enough left over to catch bad guys flying under the radar, that’s gravy.
What i see the judge saying is that his jurisdiction isn’t adequately policed.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:15 amThe thoughtless reflexive gibberish uttered by the judge is very Trumpish but I don’t see an example of the childlike credulity and gullibility which is the hallmark of his supporters.
Rick Ballard (0e6252) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:17 amYou think Billy Jeff is getting him some right now? Maybe a Time magazine tart.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:24 amActually, the judge sounds like Trump.
And it also seems like he couldn’t care less about the complaint, waiving hearing, appeal, and allowing the reprimand to be public (Paragraph 8).
nk (dbc370) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:26 amIt really is a travismockasham, Voldemort should never been sprung and if so barred from using a computer like bassoulay, your need to bring trump into this is baffling,
narciso (732bc0) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:35 amnk, it reads like a deal: allow the reprimand to be public and we will leave it at a reprimand.
Patterico (cbdb42) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:44 amNarciso,
Perhaps Pat is trying to help Trump with some no cost earned media today? The only Trump story I can find is the WaPo’s Fahrenthold working through Trump’s Charity Lies.
How can Trump hope to crack through his 40% support barrier without help? It’s not as if he has any money to spend or a campaign organization.
Rick Ballard (0e6252) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:57 amCould be, Patterico. I saw that Aaron agrees with you.
nk (dbc370) — 6/28/2016 @ 7:00 am“childlike credulity and gullibility which is the hallmark of his supporters”
An insulting comment is normally the hallmark of a bad argument.
Insulting the supporters of an opposing political view or candidate worked well for the the Remain faction in the UK as against the Brexit side didn’t it?
Finally, a lot of Trump supporters are with him only because of the lack of anyone else to support.
Conservative Republicans, they thirst for the perfect candidate, but will never find one, for there are none.
Fred Z (0e0d83) — 6/28/2016 @ 7:15 amYes they keep counting the chocolate rations, delivered from minitrue.
narciso (732bc0) — 6/28/2016 @ 7:35 amR.I.P. Pat Summit, legendary women’s basketball coach
R.I.P. Buddy Ryan, legendary football coach
Happy Birrhday to Mel Brooks, 90 years young!
Cormac McCarthy LIVES!
Icy (3204b7) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:11 amSounds like a Chicago Way judge to me. Why the place is near cesspool status.
Colonel Haiku (dd820b) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:12 amDid you read Blood Meridian, Icy?
All I can say is wow! What a gift.
Colonel Haiku (dd820b) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:17 amthey’re all in on it:
http://dailycaller.com/2016/06/27/whistle-blower-house-committee-hung-me-out-to-dry-after-using-my-info-against-dhs/
narciso (732bc0) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:24 amyou really the my cousin vinnie act was of his own choosing, seriously counselor,
narciso (732bc0) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:51 am“He sounds like a Trump voter, doesn’t he?” What a cheap shot.
lynndh (39eade) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:58 amDo you know all of the Trump voters? You sound more like a Democrat, lumping together
people into a basket because of one person. You know, like all Republicans are gun toting
knuckle draggers.
yes, let them vent, consider that a whole host of voldemorts would be empowered by red queen,
narciso (732bc0) — 6/28/2016 @ 9:36 amFirst a correction to the post.
Vaughey didn’t think I had violated a peace order. He thought I had violated Maryland’s harassment statute, and therefore deserved restraining order, called a peace order.
Specifically, here’s his syllogism:
1) peacefully writing negative stories about Brett Kimberlin is incitement of violence against him,
2) such incitement is harassment,
3) such harassment justifies a peace order to prevent further harassment, and
4) therefore I am going to forbid you from speaking about Brett Kimberlin at all for six months.
Now, I was arrested that day for alleged violations of the peace order. But that was based on a lying application for charges brett filed that morning with the commissioner. I think even if we had a good judge who threw it out, I probably would still have been arrested. It wasn’t his decision and I don’t think he was able to stop it, if he was inclined. The question of my obedience to the temporary peace order was not on the docket: the question of whether I would have a final peace order.
Second, I respectfully disagree with our host. Vaughey doesn’t sound like a Trumphumper. Vaughey sounds like a liberal, believing that all conservatives are barely contained animals, ready to become violent at any moment, while ignoring clear evidence of liberal violence right in front of them.
Which is funny because I am told that in general Vaughey is supposedly a conservative judge. Like I said in my post, I only saw one particularly ugly slice of this judge’s personality, so who knows what he is like the rest of the time.
And I say that thinking that Trump should be nowhere near the nuclear button. Seriously, if he is elected, I think it is the military’s patriotic duty to give him a dummy button and tell him it’s the real thing. Like maybe if he presses it, it will shoot chocolate in his face while a device inside films it and uploads it to YouTube.
Third, joking aside, I feel very fully vindicated. The narrative of the reprimand talks about disrespect, but the actual rules they cite that they say he broke are much more serious—bias and failure to follow the law.
Fourth, NK, make up your own mind, but I doubt the judge would have let it be public if he merely didn’t care. it wouldn’t take much effort to block publication.
Aaron "Worthing" Walker (43be7a) — 6/28/2016 @ 10:33 amAaron – You must be some persuasive writer.
papertiger (c2d6da) — 6/28/2016 @ 1:55 pmThe left wingers are sick, sick, sick.
This is why we must elect anyone other than Hillary.
And I know that the puritanical conservatives (especially the ones in Texxxxas!) will end up with a panty wedgie about that prospect, but Trump is still better than Hillary.
Judicial nominations have consequences for decades. See Anthony Kennedy.
Cruz Supporter (102c9a) — 6/28/2016 @ 2:14 pmI don’t think the judge necessarily sounds like a Trump voter. I do think he sounds like Trump, though. And he’s a disgrace to his profession.
Beldar (fa637a) — 6/28/2016 @ 3:56 pmDid you read Blood Meridian, Icy?
All I can say is wow! What a gift.
Colonel Haiku (dd820b) — 6/28/2016 @ 8:17 am
— I have a copy in my library, Mr. Colonel, but have yet to read it (I’m a voracious reader, but also sort of a book hoarder).
Icy (3204b7) — 6/28/2016 @ 6:16 pm