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By BEN EVANS – The Associated Press
Wednesday, December 8, 2010; 11:57 AM

WASHINGTON — The Senate on Wednesday convicted U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana on four articles of impeachment, making him just the eighth federal judge in history to be removed by Congress.

Porteous, who sat before senators in the well of the chamber as they voted separately on each count, declined to comment as he left the chamber. Attorney Daniel Schwartz said, “We’re obviously disappointed with the result.”

House prosecutors laid out a damaging case against Porteous, 63, a New Orleans native who was a state judge before winning appointment to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1994. The prosecutors said gambling and drinking problems led him to begin accepting cash and other favors from attorneys and bail bondsmen with business before his court.

He also was accused of lying to Congress during his judicial confirmation and filing for bankruptcy under a false name.

The Senate voted unanimously to convict on one count and with a strong majority for each of the other three.

Porteous’ lead attorney, Jonathan Turley, acknowledged much of the behavior, saying the judge made mistakes but arguing that they were mostly personal failings that didn’t meet the “high crimes and misdemeanor” standard for impeachment. Turley also argued that many of the practices – such as accepting favors and expensive meals – were common in the Louisiana legal community.

But House prosecutors said the evidence showed a decades-long pattern of corruption. They told senators that allowing Porteous to remain on the bench would erode public confidence in the courts and make a mockery of the federal judiciary.

The Senate closed the chamber for more than two hours Tuesday night to deliberate on his fate. The Senate made its decision Wednesday in a solemn ceremonial vote in which senators sat at their desks and rose when called, saying “guilty” or “not guilty.”

Porteous offered little reaction as the decision became clear, mostly looking down at papers before him where an attorney kept a tally of the votes.

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AP – US District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, left, walks with his attorney Jonathan Turley, on Capitol Hill …

By Ben Evans – Tuesday, December 7, 2010; 11:45 PM

The attorney for an impeached federal judge on trial before the Senate argued Tuesday that Congress is pursuing unconstitutional charges against his client and would be breaking with two centuries of precedent by removing him from office.

Jonathan Turley told senators assembled in the chamber for the historic trial that some of the allegations against Judge G. Thomas Porteous are vague or exaggerated. Others, he said, involve conduct that occurred before Porteous was appointed to the federal bench.

“In the history of this republic, no one has ever been removed from office on the basis of pre-federal conduct,” Turley said, urging the senators to dismiss some of the most serious charges.

The lead House prosecutor, Rep. Adam B. Schiff (D-Calif.), responded that Porteous engaged in a persistent pattern of corruption throughout his career, before and after his federal service. Allowing Porteous, 63, to remain on the bench, Schiff said, would erode public confidence in the courts and make a mockery of the federal judiciary.

“He must be removed,” Schiff said.

The Senate is beginning the final stage of the case against Porteous, a U.S. District Court judge from Louisiana who could become just the eighth federal judge to be removed from office.

The House voted unanimously in March to bring four articles of impeachment against him. A two-thirds Senate vote is needed to convict. The proceeding is just the 16th judicial impeachment trial before the Senate.

House prosecutors allege that Porteous was racking up debt as he struggled with drinking and gambling problems. They say he began accepting cash, meals, trips and other favors from people with business before his court, beginning as a state judge in the 1980s and continuing after he was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton in 1994.

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