Wanted to ‘relax litigants’
A US judge has left the building after a disciplinary panel discovered he had been presiding over a case while wearing an Elvis Presley wig and occasionally playing the singer’s music during hearings.
Judge Matthew EP Thornhill, the longest serving circuit judge in Missouri’s St Charles County and a self confessed Elvis devotee, was found to have turned his courtroom into something close to a budget Graceland tribute, according to reports.
Court filings include photographs of Thornhill perched on the bench in a plastic Elvis wig and oversized sunglasses, a look that suggests he was very committed to keeping the King alive in spirit if not in décor.
The commission reported that Thornhill sometimes offered litigants the choice of being sworn in while Elvis songs played from his phone. He was also said to drop references to the King’s lyrics, birth date and death date during hearings, even when this had no relevance whatsoever to the issues at hand. The panel concluded that these habits failed to maintain the required level of judicial decorum.
Thornhill explained that his intention was to add levity to tense situations and “help relax litigants”. In a later letter to the Missouri Supreme Court, he accepted that the conduct risked undermining the integrity and solemnity of the proceedings. He did not contest the findings, describing them as substantially accurate.
The Elvis themed behaviour was not the only matter under scrutiny. Thornhill was also accused of discussing his political preferences during cases and promoting his own election campaign by asking courtroom participants whether they had seen his “Thornhill for Judge” signs around town.
The disciplinary commission recommended a six month suspension followed by a further eighteen months of service before retirement. The Missouri Supreme Court is currently considering whether to accept the proposed penalty.
For now, it seems that when judges cannot resist the urge to channel Elvis, the ethics commission is ready to remind them that they need a little less conversation and a little more judicial restraint.
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