Judge Removed and Barred in Georgia

Who says some judges aren't ignorant, rude, and unprofessional?

Here's an amazing news story of a high-school educated probate judge, Kenneth E. Fowler (pictured), in rural Georgia who got sacked this week.

Law. com reports:

 The Supreme Court of Georgia on Monday ordered the permanent removal of a Twiggs County probate judge from the bench and barred him from ever holding or seeking judicial office. In an 11-page ruling, the court unanimously found that Twiggs County Probate Judge Kenneth E. Fowler had violated the state's judicial canon of ethics and that his conduct "shows that he is simply unwilling to live up to his legal and ethical responsibilities as a judge." 

The high court also dismissed Fowler's contentions that any judicial misconduct in which he may have engaged stemmed from unintentional errors and a lack of legal education. Fowler has a high school education, which is all that the state mandates for probate judges in its less populated counties. Instead, the Supreme Court found that Fowler had demonstrated judicial incompetence, disregarded the law, taken actions that eroded public trust and confidence in the judiciary, engaged in behavior inappropriate for a judge and showed a lack of judicial decorum and temperament.

"His ignorance of the law is inexcusable, and his abuse of his judicial office unacceptable," the court opinion stated. "Indeed, we cannot expect that members of the public will respect the law and remain confident in our judiciary while judges who do not respect and follow the law themselves remain on the bench."