House Proceeding 03-11-10 on Mar 11th, 2010 :: 0:06:15 to 0:08:50
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0:06:14 to 0:06:34( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: therefore i urge my colleagues careful consideration in support of the resolution. and i reserve the balance of my time. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman from michigan reserves the balance of his time. the gentleman from texas is recognized. mr. smith: i yield myself such time as i may consume. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized for as much time as he may consume.

0:06:15 to 0:08:50( Edit History Discussion )
Speech By: Lamar S. Smith

0:06:35 to 0:06:55( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: mr. smith: mr. speaker, we are here today to consider and vote on four articles of impeachment against united states district judge, g. thomasporteous. thanks go to congressman schiff and congressman goodlatte for the way they have worked together in overseeing the impeachment task force's very thorough inquiry into a number

0:06:56 to 0:07:18( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: of serious allegations involving judge porteous. they have set an outstanding example of how an inquiry like this can, in fact, be conducted in a bipartisan manner. the constitution grants the house of representatives the sole power to impeach a sitting federal judge. this is a very serious power which congress did not take

0:07:19 to 0:07:40( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: lightly. impeachment by the house constitutes one of the few checks on the judiciary and is to be used only in instanc when a judge betrays his office or proves unfit to hold that position of trust. in fact, only 14 federal judges have be impeached by the house in our entire nation's history, with four of these

0:07:41 to 0:08:01( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: occurring in the past 24 years. after an extensive investigation and a series of hargs by impeachment task force, clear and convincing evidence had been developed involving a number of different actions by judge porteous that make him unpit to serve -- unfit to serve as a federal judge. the report which accompanies

0:08:02 to 0:08:22( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: the articles of impeachment sets forth in detail the various incidents of iroper conduct by judge porteous. though judges rule on the law, they are not above the law. to preservequality and fairness in our constitutional democracy, we must protect the integrity of the courts. it is clear that judge

0:08:23 to 0:08:44( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: porteous' actions are in violation of the american people's trust and a the threat to the integrity of the federal bench. the american people deserve better from their feral judges. i also hope our vote today sends a message of encouragement to the great majority of judges who serve our nation with distinction. we will not let a few bad

0:08:45 to 0:08:51( Edit History Discussion )

Lamar S. Smith: actors mar the reputation of others on the federal bench. the time has comeor the house