Still more disturbing details emerging (and not emerging) from Kent sentencing

The more I learn about the crimes and sentencing of former federal judge Samuel Kent, the more troubled I am about how this case has been handled by federal prosecutors and the presiding federal judge.  And I remain especially aggravated that Kent will probably end up serving less than two years in federal prison while far less advantaged individuals are serving much more time for seemingly much less serious crimes.

Consider first this potent victim statement post on-line by the Houston Chronicle.  It details how extensively Kent sexually abused one particular court employee, how "he hurt so many people in so many ways," and how his decision to lie repeatedly about his criminal acts further exacerbated the harms suffered by his victims.

Now consider an excerpt from this potent post by lawyer Tom Kirkendall, who attended the sentencing and asks some keen and important questions about how this case was handled by everyone involved:

The first hour or so of the hearing was stupefying as prosecutors and Kent defense attorney Dick DeGuerin argued over objections to the government's pre-sentencing report. The main reason for the boredom was that, for the most part, no one except the lawyers in involved in the case and U.S. District Judge Roger Vinson knew what they were talking about. That vacuum of information was a direct result of Judge Vinson's dubious decision to keep a substantial amount of the information about the charges against Kent under seal and away from public scrutiny.

Judge Vinson's decision in that regard might have been somewhat defensible had the two victims of Kent's sexual assaults requested secrecy to preserve what little privacy that they could salvage from this ordeal. But neither of the victims requested such treatment, and my sense is that Kent didn't want it, either.

So, Judge Vinson decided to conduct this case largely outside the public eye for his own reasons. In my 30 years of practicing law, I have never seen the volume of information in a case placed under seal as was done in this case.

In sentencing Kent, Judge Vinson claimed that he was upholding the justice system by showing that even a powerful judge is not above the law. Unfortunately, he undermined that same system by preventing the public from learning the details of the accusations against Kent and Kent's responses to those allegations. Although the first part of the hearing could have induced a snooze, the pace picked up dramatically when the two victims of Kent's assaults made their way to the podium to make their victim statements to the court. Both victims were extremely impressive in their presentations, describing the emotional and family carnage that Kent's assaults and abuse of power caused.  We also learned tidbits of information that likely would have been already been revealed had Judge Vinson not maintained such tight control over information... [including that a] "culture of fear" existed among employees at the Galveston federal courthouse as a result of Kent's manipulative behavior and frequent drunkenness....

[N]ow it appears that Kent was drinking heavily for much of the past decade and that he was frequently intoxicated while at the courthouse.... Where were Kent's "friends" who knew about his excessive drinking and other personal problems, and were in a position to intervene and help him before it was too late?

What are we to make of the federal government's human resources apparatus that an entire federal courthouse could have been placed under a culture of fear by the abusive behavior of one man?

And doesn't the Fifth Circuit Judicial Council have some explaining to do on why it issued its agreed order of public reprimand of Kent without interviewing either of the victims during the council's investigation?

Finally what are we to conclude about our justice system that the Houston Chronicle -- which, along with its coverage of Hurricane Ike, should have been won a Pulitzer Prize for its reporting on the Kent case -- provides much more information to the public about the crimes of an abusive judge than the prosecution of that judge?

Related posts on the Kent proceedings:

• Any predictions on former Judge Sam Kent's sentence?  UPDATE: 33 months
• More (disturbing?) details emerging about crimes and sentencing of former Judge Kent
• Judge Kent takes a deal (and now becomes the latest, greatest topic for sentencing debate)
• "Is Kent getting off easy?"
• More questions and fall-out following Judge Kent's guilty plea
• Latest notable news surrounding former judge (now felon) Sam Kent