Senate Sworn to Hear Judge’s Case
The Senate was sworn in Thursday to sit as an impeachment court for the trial of jailed federal Judge Harry E. Claiborne, a judicial drama not seen in half a century.
Claiborne, chief U.S. district judge of Nevada, was convicted of four counts of income tax evasion and began serving a two-year sentence in May at a federal prison at Maxwell Air Force Base, Ala. He has refused to resign and is continuing to collect his salary of more than $200 a day, seven days a week, while he serves his time.
The House of Representatives voted to impeach him. The Senate will act as the jury.
It was the first time the Senate was so sworn since it held an impeachment trial for Halsted L. Ritter in 1936, also a judge. He was convicted and removed from office.
Majority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) and Democratic leader Robert C. Byrd of West Virginia appointed a committee of 12 to hear the evidence and present it to the senator-judges.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
