Thursday, November 5, 2015

Is Judge Gary L. Sharpe of the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of New York a drinker?

I just posed a question on a blog post, whether the Otsego County District Attorney John Muehl has a drinking problem.

And posted his picture.

I would like to state that the same or worse facial color, plus glassy eyes, plus unnatural laughter unbecoming the occasion of the court proceedings, I heard from Judge Gary Sharpe during my appearance in front of him in the spring of 2015.

I was shocked when I saw the judge.  At that time, he was the Chief Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of New York.  He was Chief Judge of that court for several years.

The court handles death penalty cases.

I understand that the economy is bad, that attorneys depend upon judges for their licensing and reputation and may be afraid to report Sharpe if he was indeed drinking.

But doesn't somebody, anybody, any independent authority, monitor whether judges are drunk on the job?

Federal employers randomly drug-check their employees.

Shouldn't the same be done with judges? 

I already raised the issue of drug use by judges on this blog.  See here and here.

The use of alcohol is not less serious.  These people hold in their hands our lives - Sharpe does literally, he handles death penalty cases.  WHO checks whether he is drinking?

The Conduct Commission of the 2nd Circuit certainly doesn't.  They will dismiss any complaint about Judge Sharpe's possible drinking during court proceedings based on the exemption in the Judicial Disability Act that does not allow to review judge's misconduct if it happened during court proceedings.

So, WHO will look into whether Sharpe has a drinking problem?

Moreover, judges may have a tendency to acquire a drinking problem, what with all the receptions attorney associations are inviting them to.

Once again - WHO will be checking on the potential drinking problem of this particular judge?


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