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Angry Judge William Watkins Suspended for Four Years Without Pay


Author: Lowell Steiger

Published On: March 28, 2013

Folks, I don’t usually reprint other articles on my blog.  However, this one along with the inciting video is worth the read and watch!

Bottom Line: Judges, as well as attorneys and litigants, need to be held responsible for their actions.

From the ABA Journal:

An admittedly intemperate family court judge has been suspended without pay for the remaining years of his term by the West Virginia
Supreme Court of Appeals.

In one angry rant from the bench that has been viewed on YouTube more than 200,000 times, Putnam County Circuit Court Family Law Judge William M. Watkins III repeatedly told a pastor appearing before him to “shut up.” And this was far from the only time he spoke to parties using inappropriate language, according to the opinion (PDF) filed Tuesday by the supreme court.

In one hearing, the opinion says, when speaking to a woman who was seeking an order of protection against her then-husband in a domestic
violence case, Watkins blamed the woman for “shooting off your fat mouth about what happened,” told her to “Shut up!” and then continued:

“Shut up! You stupid woman. Can’t even act properly. One more word out of you that you aren’t asked a question you’re out of here, and you will
be found in direct contempt of court and I will fine you appropriately. So, shut your mouth.You know I hate it when people are just acting out
of sheer spite and stupidity.”

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