Judges Mississippi

Walter L. Nixon whiles away the days in a minimum security jail in New Orleans, the only federal judge in prison and only the second in history to be convicted of a felony while serving on the bench. The Mississippi jurist still draws his $89,500-a-year government salary--totaling more than $300,000 since his 1984 conviction for perjury.

A federal judge on Wednesday left in place an injunction blocking a new law in Mississippi that could effectively shut down the state's only abortion clinic, located in Jackson, Miss. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan III extended the injunction but did not say how long it would remain in effect. The law, passed by the Republican-led legislature in April and made effective July 1, requires anyone performing an abortion to be a certified obstetrician/gynecologist with admitting privileges at a local hospital.

Convicted U.S. District Judge Walter L. Nixon Jr. has been released from a minimum security prison and sent to a halfway house, 15 months into a five-year prison term for lying to a grand jury. Federal prison officials said that Nixon, who served on the federal bench in Mississippi, was transferred last week from Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle to Volunteers of America Community Correction Center in New Orleans.

Former U.S. District Judge Walter L. Nixon Jr., who was impeached and disbarred for perjury, can return to work as a lawyer in Mississippi, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Nixon, 64, was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate in 1989. In 1986, he was convicted of lying to a grand jury when he denied discussing a marijuana case with a district attorney. The state Supreme Court disbarred Nixon in 1989.

Former U.S. District Judge Walter L. Nixon Jr., who was impeached and disbarred for perjury, can return to work as a lawyer in Mississippi, the state Supreme Court ruled Thursday. Nixon, 64, was impeached by the U.S. House of Representatives and removed from office by the Senate in 1989. In 1986, he was convicted of lying to a grand jury when he denied discussing a marijuana case with a district attorney. The state Supreme Court disbarred Nixon in 1989.

A federal judge on Wednesday left in place an injunction blocking a new law in Mississippi that could effectively shut down the state's only abortion clinic, located in Jackson, Miss. U.S. District Court Judge Daniel P. Jordan III extended the injunction but did not say how long it would remain in effect. The law, passed by the Republican-led legislature in April and made effective July 1, requires anyone performing an abortion to be a certified obstetrician/gynecologist with admitting privileges at a local hospital.

It was an ingenious, if untested, legal theory--hatched by four old law school friends searching for the "master stroke" that might finally beat the tobacco companies in court. For decades, the companies have been sued by smokers who alleged that cigarettes damaged their health, but the firms never had to pay a dime in damages. Their invincible defense: Smokers had exercised "personal choice" and assumed the risk of health dangers.

Walter L. Nixon whiles away the days in a minimum security jail in New Orleans, the only federal judge in prison and only the second in history to be convicted of a felony while serving on the bench. The Mississippi jurist still draws his $89,500-a-year government salary--totaling more than $300,000 since his 1984 conviction for perjury.

Convicted U.S. District Judge Walter L. Nixon Jr. has been released from a minimum security prison and sent to a halfway house, 15 months into a five-year prison term for lying to a grand jury. Federal prison officials said that Nixon, who served on the federal bench in Mississippi, was transferred last week from Eglin Air Force Base in the Florida Panhandle to Volunteers of America Community Correction Center in New Orleans.