The Galveston County Daily News

The federal judicial system has failed to do its duty in handling accusations against U.S. District Judge Samuel B. Kent. Now, what the courts have failed to do, Congress must do.

Based on everything now known about the judge’s conduct, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals should have seen to it that Kent resigned or faced an impeachment inquiry or perhaps even criminal prosecution.

The court took no such action, and thus it reinforces a disturbing notion: Federal judges are themselves above the law.

Cathy McBroom, Kent’s former case manager, complained that the judge grabbed her, pulled up her blouse and bra and put his mouth on her breast. She said the alleged assault occurred in the judge’s chambers in Galveston’s federal court.

The judges who looked into this complaint could have done several things. They could, for example, have seen to it that assault charges were filed with the proper authorities.

Instead, they removed Kent from the bench for four months, with pay. They transferred him to Houston, where, ironically, he will again work in the same building with McBroom. After she filed the complaint, McBroom asked to be transferred from Galveston to Houston.

The judges also went to extraordinary lengths to protect Kent in this case. Their order reprimanding him was ridiculously vague. Judges obviously hoped that absolutely no information about the accusations against him would become public. Their response was designed to protect one of their own, rather than to protect the alleged victim or the integrity of the court.

It was a stunning response from people who are responsible for upholding the law.

Those who have responsible positions in the private sector may ponder what their careers would look like if they recommended four months with pay as a way to address such a complaint.

The standard that the council of judges set in this case wouldn’t be acceptable in the business world. It shouldn’t be acceptable in the judiciary.

Some members of the House Judiciary Committee — including Lamar Smith of San Antonio, the ranking Republican on the committee, and Sheila Jackson-Lee, a Houston Democrat — have called for an investigation into this case. The investigation would determine whether impeachment proceedings are justified.

It’s past time for the committee to get involved.

We believe that Galveston County’s representatives, Nick Lamson and Ron Paul, as well as Senators John Cornyn and Kay Bailey Hutchison, have a responsibility to press this case toward consideration by the U.S. House Judiciary Committee. Those elected officials are the voice of the people in Congress, and they have a responsibility to exercise leadership in this area.

The U.S. Constitution says Congress has a role to play when the federal judicial system fails to keep its own house in order.

The judicial system has, in this case, failed spectacularly.