LETTER OF REPRIMAND, aka, “Slap on the Wrist”.
Below is the text of a “Letter of Reprimand” issued by the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary against Columbia, Tennessee judge Jim T. Hamilton.
According to the Letter of Reprimand, Judge Hamilton entered orders dismissing criminal cases and expunging (erasing) criminal court records without approval or even notice to the district attorney’s office.
This occurred during the years 2006 and 2007; the Reprimand was issued May 4, 2011. The unanswered question is how many attorneys knew that Judge Jim was doing this and how many attorneys presented orders dismissing cases and expunging cases without notifying the district attorney’s office?
When orders are presented to judges, the signatures of all attorneys involved must be on the order, or a certificate of service stating that all attorneys were notified must be on the order, especially the DISTRICT ATTORNEY in criminal cases. All attorneys and all judges know this.
This reminds me of former Tennessee governor Ray Blanton. As stated in www.en.wikipedia.org:
"[Ray Blanton’s] administration seemed rife with 'cronyism', and this became more apparent when Roger Humphreys, a convicted double murderer, was pardoned for his crimes and it became public knowledge that his father was a county chairman for Blanton. It was later discovered that members of Blanton's staff were involved in the apparent sale of pardons. Several of them were subsequently convicted of selling pardons. Blanton himself was never charged, and seemed unfazed by any criticism."
Just wondering if there was any criminal investigation into Judge Jim’s case in which he just got a slap on the wrist for signing ex parte orders dismissing and expunging criminal cases.
The Tennessee Court of the Judiciary: judges overseeing judges - no justice there!
Text of the Letter of Reprimand:
The Honorable Jim T. Hamilton
22 Public Square, Suite 3
P.O. Box 413
Columbia, Tennessee 38402-0413
RE: Complaint of Mike Bottoms
File No. 10-4316
Dear Judge Hamilton:
This shall serve as a letter of reprimand pursuant to your agreement with the investigative panel of this court.
This reprimand relates to your handling of certain cases in 2006 and 2007, in which you signed ex-parte orders of dismissal and ex-parte orders expunging convictions.
Upon receiving notice of the complaint from the Disciplinary Counsel to the Tennessee Court of the Judiciary, you responded and admitted that you had entered these orders without first personally determining that they had been presented to, and first approved by, the appropriate District Attorney General. You have further indicated that you now are aware these orders were not authorized under the current law, and that you did not exercise appropriate diligence in determining the correctness of the orders prior to entering them. You have indicated that you intend to ensure that all orders entered are in fact approved or known to all parties prior to their entry and that you will be diligent in ascertaining that all orders signed by you are appropriate under the law.
The entry of improper ex-parte orders in this case is a violation of Canon 2A which requires that a "Judge shall respect and comply with the law and shall act at all times in a manner that promotes public confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the Judiciary." Canon3B (2) also requires that "A judge shall be faithful to the law and maintain professional competence in it." Accordingly, this letter constitutes a public reprimand for your actions. In the future, you are to continue to follow the Code of Judicial Conduct in regards to the signing and entry of orders submitted to you for your approval.
Sincerely yours,
Don R. Ash
Presiding Judge
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