The State - News from July 9, 1985

A federal appeals court in San Francisco upheld the tax evasion convictions of U.S. District Judge Harry E. Claiborne of Nevada, the only federal judge in the 20th Century to be convicted of felonies while serving on the bench. The decision leaves Claiborne, 67, open to a $10,000 fine and a two-year prison term--a sentence imposed by a trial judge in 1984. The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Claiborne’s claim that federal judges, who are appointed for life, are immune from prosecution for felonies until they are impeached by Congress. It also rejected his claim that the government abused the grand jury process and committed technical errors requiring a new trial. Claiborne was convicted by a jury in August, 1984, on two counts of failing to report $106,000 in income on his 1979 and 1980 tax returns. The money was received from legal fees earned while he was a defense attorney but paid after he became a judge.