Lawyers rally around Houston federal judge
A federal judge criticized for barring a female prosecutor from his Houston courtroom has the backing of about a dozen lawyers who said the Justice Department unfairly attacked his character.
Flanked by civil and criminal defense lawyers, one-time congressman Craig Washington said he drove from Bastrop on Tuesday to defend longtime U.S. District Judge Lynn N. Hughes from allegations of controversial remarks perceived as racist or sexist. Washington dismissed the criticism as false.
“Anyone who besmirches his reputation by saying so should be ashamed of themselves, especially if they are an officer of the court,” Washington said.
Washington, who previously worked as a lawyer, defended 77-year-old Hughes as a fair jurist with a no-nonsense penchant for defending the Constitution.
“If someone mistakes what he says in the wrong way, that’s their problem. Not his problem,” said Washington, who in 1995 was unseated by U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee.
The attorneys who joined Washington included Robert Fickman, Nicole DeBorde, Richard Kuniansky and Sean Buckley. Their show of support outside the Bob Casey United States Courthouse comes in the wake of U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick arguing that the President Ronald Reagan-appointee abused his power by repeatedly ejecting Assistant U.S. Attorney Tina Ansari from his court.
The back-and-forth between Hughes and Patrick dredged up a comment from a 2017 court session that involved Ansari. Patrick, who is appealing Hughes’ decision to remove Ansari, has suggested the judge was retaliating against her after the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rebuked him for making a demeaning and inappropriate comment about the inclusion of women in court.
“It was a lot simpler when you guys wore dark suits, white shirts and navy ties. … We didn’t let girls do it in the old days,” Hughes said in 2017, later explaining he was addressing a group of a FBI agents — not Ansari.
Hughes most recently booted Ansari from his courtroom on Jan. 18 “because her ability and integrity are inadequate,” the judge said, according to a transcript.
Standing outside the courthouse on Rusk Street, the defense lawyers took exception to Patrick’s apparent attempt to dictate how Hughes conducts his courtroom.
“He doesn’t have to answer to anyone except the Constitution and the law of this state,” Washington said.
Fickman touted an ethics complaint he lodged against a judge while leading the Harris County Criminal Lawyers Association as an example of his impartiality.
“I have no tolerance for abusive judges, but I will stand up for a good and honorable judge whose name is dragged through the mud. I think that’s the situation with Judge Lynn Hughes,” Fickman said.
In response to the comments Patrick made, Fickman said the Justice Department misrepresented the judge to the 5th Circuit.
“He has been personally attacked, we believe, by the Department of Justice, because he had the temerity to stand up to them and rule in a manner that they did not like,” Fickman said.
Hughes’ role as a federal judge precluded him from speaking on the matter, Fickman said, and that he did not need the judge’s blessing to defend him. Hughes’ court was in session as Fickman spoke.
“He can’t come down here and make a speech obviously,” Fickman said.
Angela Dodge, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney, declined to comment on the rally and said Patrick’s prior statements and court filings “speak for themselves.”