Nation : Impeached Judge’s Plea Rebuffed

Senate Rules Committee today rebuffed federal judge Alcee L. Hastings’ request that the full Senate conduct evidence hearings in his impeachment trial.

Instead, the committee called for a panel of 12 lawmakers--six Democrats and six Republicans--to conduct hearings that would be televised so senators could watch if they chose. The 52-year-old Florida jurist is accused of plotting to get a $150,000 payoff. Under the committee’s plan, the full Senate would first hold hearings on Hastings’ motions to dismiss the charges against him. Then the 12-senator panel would convene to hear perhaps six weeks of evidence against Hastings, the first black judge in Florida and the first black official ever to be impeached. He continues to receive his $89,500 annual salary.