Scott v. United States

This is, I think, a melancholy case for the judges of this court who must participate in it. It comes before us as a criminal appeal from a felony conviction, but the issue which we must decide en banc has only an incidental connection with Scott. Rather, eight judges, most or all of whom know Judge Murphy well, are required to grit their teeth1 and pass on allegations that he transgressed ethical proscriptions in violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. This duty is particularly unpleasant in this era of Operation Greylord and similar examples of judicial corruption, for we are not dealing…