Henderson sanction a lesson in how not to behave

Let the Kansas Supreme Court’s tough sanction of Sedgwick County District Judge Timothy Henderson be a lesson for jurists in how not to behave – and encouragement to those who, like the female attorneys and staffers in this case, see a need to call a judge to account for misconduct.

The Supreme Court ordered last week that Henderson be suspended for 90 days without pay and be trained in sexual harassment, discrimination, retaliation prevention and the applicable employment law, also limiting his supervision of other employees. His current term will be up in 2016.

A minority of justices thought he deserved worse for his conduct, which the court ruled had included not only years of “inappropriate and offensive comments” but also using “his judicial office to harm the law practice of an attorney with whom the judge disagrees on moral issues” and “for personal gain by trying to influence whether his wife is offered a job.”

Sedgwick County District Attorney Marc Bennett credited his staff attorneys with professionalism in continuing to do their crucial work in juvenile court despite the then-presiding judge’s harassing behavior. But Bennett deserves praise as well, for taking his attorneys’ concerns seriously and deciding to file the ethical complaint against the powerful judge.

For the editorial board, Rhonda Holman

This story was originally published March 3, 2015 at 6:06 PM with the headline "Henderson sanction a lesson in how not to behave."