u235

Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy got pissed when the Boston Herald misquoted him as telling a rape victim to "get over it". He then acted within the rules when he sued and won a libel suit against the paper. Apparently that wasn't enough so he started sending the paper letters, the content of which have landed him at the pointy end of ethical charges. One letter demanded that the publisher deliver a check for $3.26 million - ostensibly to speed the case to closure rather than dealing with the appeals process.

Ok, poor judgement on the part of the Judge but the really big flub came when he told the news how the whole event affected his family.

Murphy choked up as he described how the libel case took a severe toll on him and his family.

After Herald columnist Howie Carr criticized him, a posting in a Herald chat room suggested "maybe my daughters ought to be raped," Murphy recalled. The judge said after that, his 14-year-old daughter began wetting the bed and both of his daughters required therapy.

It's not like his family wasn't stressed enough but he's now told the entire world that his 14-year-old is wetting the bed. Brilliant. Even if her friends and classmates didn't know, they sure know now.

Based on that alone I think this guy needs to take a leave of absence based on an obvious lack of judgement.