11 years later … a Judge Finally Rules

Stories abound in the media about how lawyers abuse the legal process.  But judges do so as well—although perhaps not as frequently—and attorneys often can’t do much about it (at least not quickly).  Such was the case for a judge in Tennessee who was reprimanded by state authorities for “excessive delay” after waiting nearly 11 years to rule on a case.

“Excessive delay.”  Ya think?  Not 11 weeks.  Or 11 Months.  But 11 YEARS.  Judge F. Lee Russell took a case under advisement in 1999 and didn’t rule on it until October of 2010—and only after he learned that he was facing discipline.  Absolutely unbelievable and inexcusable.  And needless to say, not very judicious.

It’s hard to believe he was only reprimanded and not forced to resign.  If a lawyer waited that long to do something (if that were even possible), not only would he rightly be sued for malpractice, but his disciplinary punishment would likely be far more severe than a mere reprimand.

What’s most egregious is that Judge Russell apparently didn’t grasp that his behavior affected the lives of the litigants.  Most lawyers understand this all too well.  Waiting for a judge to issue a ruling is never much fun, but that’s precisely what the end result of litigation is all about.  As the old saying goes, “justice delayed is justice denied.”  But the adage was never intended to be applied to a ridiculous case like this.  Shame on this judge and on the Tennessee disciplinary authority for only giving him a slap on the wrist.  Objection!

---

This entry was posted in Litigation and tagged judges, lawsuit, litigation. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post. Both comments and trackbacks are currently closed.