The Las Vegas Review-Journal has an interesting semi-profile of U.S. District Judge Justin Quackenbush today. Judge Quackenbush is a senior judge based in Spokane, Washington, but his quirks make him a Vegas visitor worth following.
Apparently one of the judges pet peeves is when attorneys speak while he is talking:
[Judge] Quackenbush was speaking when [Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve] Myhre leaned to whisper something to another prosecutor at the table. Quackenbush stopped talking. He waited until Myhre stopped talking, then said coolly, "Are you done?" before resuming his own comments
The judicial smackdown occurred during pre-trial proceedings in the Noel Gage attorney conspiracy matter, which is scheduled to start in Las Vegas on February 19. The article continued:
Quackenbush, born in 1929, was appointed to the bench by President Carter in 1980. The judge has had senior status since 1995 and travels around taking cases where local judges have conflicts.
The word quirky is often used to describe Quackenbush because he tends to muse aloud about what's on his mind.
For instance, early on, he admitted he had trouble understanding the government's case. (If he can't follow the machinations, how can jurors?) But in the Jan. 18 pretrial hearing, he said a chronology helped him understand the government's allegations of "an unholy cabal, a doctor-lawyer conspiracy." I don't know of many judges who would admit to initially not understanding a case.
Forget O.J. That drama is sooooo 1994. This case has got it all--sharp and quirky judge, [allegedly] crooked attorneys and [allegedly] crooked doctors all working to [allegedly] screw their Plaintiff clients. Get your seats early before the courthouse starts selling tickets.
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