Tuesday, November 6, 2007

50/50

Domestic Relations Court Judge James Michael Shull who ordered a woman to drop her pants and decided a custody dispute by flipping a coin was unanimously removed from the bench by the Virginia Supreme Court on Friday.

According to the court, Shull admitted tossing a coin to determine which parent would have visitation with a child on Christmas. The pants-dropping incidents occurred when a woman was seeking a protective order against a partner who she said had stabbed her in the leg. Shull knew the woman had a history of mental problems and insisted on seeing the wound, the court said.

The woman dropped her pants once to display the wound, then dropped them a second time after Shull left the bench for a closer look to determine whether the woman had received stitches.

A court bailiff testified before the commission that after the hearing, he asked Shull, "Did you see what that lady had on?" According to the bailiff, Shull replied: "Yeah, a black lacy thing ... it looked good, didn't it?"

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