Norma Holloway Johnson

Norma Holloway Johnson, a trailblazing former chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., who gained national prominence when she oversaw the grand jury investigation into President Clinton's relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, has died. She was 79. Johnson died Sunday at her brother's home in Lake Charles, La., according to a court statement. The cause was not given. Johnson was the first black woman to be appointed to the federal bench in Washington and she is the only woman ever to serve as chief judge of the court.

Norma Holloway Johnson, a trailblazing former chief judge of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., who gained national prominence when she oversaw the grand jury investigation into President Clinton's relationship with intern Monica Lewinsky, has died. She was 79. Johnson died Sunday at her brother's home in Lake Charles, La., according to a court statement. The cause was not given. Johnson was the first black woman to be appointed to the federal bench in Washington and she is the only woman ever to serve as chief judge of the court.

The chief judge of the U.S. District Court bypassed the traditional random assignment system to send criminal cases against presidential friends Webster L. Hubbell and Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie to judges appointed by President Clinton, according to court officials. U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson's decision to abandon the longtime random computer assignment for the high-profile cases has raised concerns among several other judges, according to Associated Press interviews with them.

Norma Holloway Johnson, the chief federal district judge in the nation's capital, is on the hot seat. Presiding over a court system that handles more high-profile political cases than any other, Johnson is being investigated by her peers for assigning half a dozen criminal cases involving friends and associates of President Clinton to judges appointed by the president.

Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, whose authority over federal grand jury disputes includes the question of White House executive privilege, is known for her austere demeanor, tough courtroom discipline and deliberative manner in deciding cases. A former teacher in the rough-and-tumble District of Columbia school system, Johnson often takes no more from lawyers than she once did from the junior high school students she taught for four years. "She's very evenhanded.

Norma Holloway Johnson, the chief federal district judge in the nation's capital, is on the hot seat. Presiding over a court system that handles more high-profile political cases than any other, Johnson is being investigated by her peers for assigning half a dozen criminal cases involving friends and associates of President Clinton to judges appointed by the president.

A former Agency for International Development financial officer who admitted embezzling $1.37 million was sentenced Friday to five years in prison. U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson ordered William J. Burns, 48, to begin serving his sentence immediately. Under a 1984 sentencing law, he cannot be paroled before serving the full five-year term.

Former Rep. Joseph P. Kolter (D-Pa.) was sentenced Wednesday to six months in prison for conspiring to defraud taxpayers in the House post office scandal. Kolter, 69, pleaded guilty in May to conspiring to trade government-purchased postage stamps and vouchers for personal cash. U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson said she will recommend the sentence be served at a prison hospital in Rochester, Minn. Johnson freed him pending availability of a space at that facility.

Independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr and White House lawyers squared off Friday over the invoking of executive privilege to block the testimony of key presidential aides. The closed hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson represented a sharp escalation of the battle between the White House and Starr in the 2-month-old grand jury investigation.

An IBM Corp. subsidiary agreed Friday to pay $8.5 million in federal fines for selling powerful computers ultimately destined for a Russian nuclear weapons laboratory. IBM East Europe/Asia Ltd., the Russian subsidiary of IBM, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Washington to 17 criminal charges. Judge Norma Holloway Johnson imposed the maximum fine allowed under the law, which is designed to prevent the spread of nuclear weapon technology. Prosecutors said the IBM subsidiary sold $1.

The chief judge of the U.S. District Court bypassed the traditional random assignment system to send criminal cases against presidential friends Webster L. Hubbell and Yah Lin "Charlie" Trie to judges appointed by President Clinton, according to court officials. U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson's decision to abandon the longtime random computer assignment for the high-profile cases has raised concerns among several other judges, according to Associated Press interviews with them.

Chief U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson, whose authority over federal grand jury disputes includes the question of White House executive privilege, is known for her austere demeanor, tough courtroom discipline and deliberative manner in deciding cases. A former teacher in the rough-and-tumble District of Columbia school system, Johnson often takes no more from lawyers than she once did from the junior high school students she taught for four years. "She's very evenhanded.

A judge ordered former Rep. Dan Rostenkowski to report to a federal medical prison in Rochester, Minn., July 22 to begin serving a 17-month sentence for mail fraud. The Illinois Democrat, who underwent prostate surgery in May, wanted to report to a federal prison in Oxford, Wis., which is closer to his native Chicago. U.S. District Judge Norma Holloway Johnson granted him the extra time to recuperate but refused to allow him to report to Oxford.

President Clinton has invoked executive privilege in an effort to keep two of his top aides from having to testify fully in independent counsel Kenneth W. Starr's investigation of the Monica S. Lewinsky matter, sources said Friday. A team of lawyers for the president, along with Starr and seven prosecutors, presented oral arguments during a closed hearing before U.S. Chief Judge Norma Holloway Johnson on Friday afternoon.