U.S. District Judge Walter Smith sexually harassed women inside the Waco federal courthouse. He will never be forced to publicly apologize for those actions. And despite leaving the bench in disgrace, Smith will be paid a salary of $200,000 for the rest of his life.
Those are the main takeaways of a decision made last month by the judges of the Judicial Council for the Fifth Circuit, which was looking at just what exactly they should do with Smith after sexual harassment allegations against him came to light. The disciplinary body concluded last year that the judge appointed in 1984 by President Ronald Reagan had made unwanted sexual advances in 1998 to a court clerk. And they were considering whether there was a pattern and practice to his misconduct that warranted the “extraordinary step” of impeaching him.
