The administrator in charge of hiring in the state trial courts is taking the unusual step of urging the Supreme Judicial Court not to fire a Barnstable clerk magistrate and instead use the case as an opportunity to revise the disciplinary process for all clerk magistrates.
Court Administrator Lewis H. “Harry” Spence, appointed last spring to professionalize and manage personnel matters after the Probation Department patronage scandal, sent a letter to Chief Justice Roderick L. Ireland last week, weighing in on the discipline case of Robert E. Powers, clerk magistrate of Barnstable District Court.
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So Corrupt Chief Magistrate Leo T. Sorokin is the reality you recused yourself from working on the requested report and recommendation in the case that follows because you were well aware that Attorney Bean as the counsel for the moving party would be intolerant of your usual unprofessional and corrupt tactics or was this filing something you needed for appearance sake prior to the US District Judges announcement that they would be reappointing you? US District Judges reappoint Corrupt Magistrate Judge Leo T. Sorokin Public records support allegations in this comment http://www.scribd.com/tired_of_corruption Civil No. 12-10750-PBS ORDER FOR RECUSAL AND REASSIGNMENT December 28, 2012 SOROKIN, C.M.J., On December 27, 2012, this action was referred to the undersigned to resolve a pending motion to compel discovery filed by defendant Green Valley Oil. See Doc. Nos. 102, 107. After consideration, I am compelled to recuse myself and direct that the referred motion be reassigned to another Magistrate Judge for resolution. Recusal is required “in any proceeding in which [the judge’s] impartiality might reasonably be questioned.” 28 U.S.C. § 455(a); see In re United States, 441 F.3d 44, 57 (1st Cir. 2006) (standard for recusal is “whether an objective, reasonable member of the public . . . would fairly question the . . . judge’s impartiality”). It is incumbent upon the Court to consider whether recusal is appropriate pursuant to § 455. See Obert v. Republic W. Ins. Co., 190 F. Supp. 2d 279, 284 (D.R.I. 2002) (noting “a judge does not have to wait and . . . should not wait until a party moves for disqualification”). Here, the undersigned’s friendship with counsel for the moving defendant reasonably could give rise to an appearance of impropriety as contemplated by § 455(a). Accordingly, recusal is warranted. The Clerk is therefore directed to reassign the referred motion to compel to another Magistrate Judge. SO ORDERED. /s/ Leo T. Sorokin Leo T. Sorokin Chief U.S. Magistrate Judge
The SJC has paid zero attention to the impact that incompetence in probation has impacted incarcerating wrongly accused probationers. The media talks only about patronage the more sexy topic. Are jails are filled and the SJC missed the point of having legally trained qualified personnel in place with up to par monitoring equipment for alcohol and drug use as well as surveillance. jUstice ignored billions wasted jails are filled. Focus on patronage the medias party line... SJC should have had the guts. they refuse to overturn probation violations and tie it to these scandals. the protection of status quo sits behind the robes more so than even Beacon Hill. They are supposed to have a higher standard.. Where is it?