Judge got view, lost perspective

[The Roux Comes First]

Here's some judicial hubris with the "forest green" hue you might expect in the pacific northwest. A judge in Seattle a while back ordered his gardener to remove some trees blocking his view. Unfortunately the trees were in a public park. His original accountability moment involved blaming the gardener . . .

And remember how the judge, Jerome Farris, apologized and pledged to "make the city whole" after his gardener cut nearly an acre of Colman Park trees down to the stumps? "He has stepped up to his responsibility as a good citizen of our community," Seattle City Attorney Tom Carr said when Farris agreed to pay $500,000 to restore the Mount Baker neighborhood park.

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This is no typical judge. Nearly three years later, Farris has paid less than half the $500,000 bill. The final payment was due 8 ½ months ago.

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It turns out when Farris said he would pay, he didn't mean that the money would actually come from his own pocket. Since before he signed the settlement, the senior judge on the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals has been trying to get the entire $500,000 paid by his homeowner's insurance.

Not surprisingly, the insurer refused, saying it isn't liable for intentional and illegal logging on public land.

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http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2002583851_danny26.html

[The Backlash Cometh]

1. Just love it when we catch them playing the numbers.

[sam sarrha]

2. the gardner probably didnt speak english.. and got off scott free

[Igel]

3. Here's J. Farris' profile.

http://www.jtbf.org/article_iii_judges/farris_j.htm

To be honest, I'm surprised he paid as much as he did. And I'm glad the court's making him keep his word.

[The Roux Comes First]

4. Workin' for that minimum wage?

Thanks for sharing that bio-link, igil. I remembered only a few bits from articles when this story first broke.

Maybe we can line Farris up with some horticultural community service time to work off remaining debt?