| ► Ex. Judge Samuel Biers of Durham, NC; serial liar, Dumbo, convict |
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Ex. Judge Samuel Biers of Durham, NC; serial liar, Dumbo, convict
Up until mid-2011, Sammy was sitting as a DurhamCounty magistrate. The filing of at least two ethics complaints against Sammy led to him whimping out and resigning from the bench rather than fight the charges.
One of the complaints was filed by Kenya Newell, who was angry with Sammy for setting a low bond for a criminal suspect accused of stabbing her son with a kitchen knife at a local high school.
The bond was set at $5,000 while local guidelines called for a $30,000 bond. Additionally, Newell said Sammy was disrespectful to her and law enforcement officers handling the case.
The most egregious complaint against Sammy came from Durham County Sheriff, Major Paul Martin in April 2011. Major Martin flagged differences in birth dates on Sammy’s driver’s license and on federal paperwork.
The license listed Biers' birth date as Aug. 3, 1967, while the federal form indicated Biers was born April 29, 1967.
Ms. Newell argued that Sammy was convicted of crimes in Nevada and Michigan, and to hide his criminal record he gave false information about his date of birth.
Sammy’s lawyer, Patrice Walker, said he applied for the magistrate’s job honestly and truthfully. She went on to say she had a letter indicating that Sammy didn’t have a criminal record in Nevada. Obviously, Ms. Walker missed her calling as a standup comedian!
However, in a lawsuit Sammy filed in Michigan in 2004, he readily admitted that he had a “15-year-old criminal history.” (Durham Herald-Sun)
Being a convicted criminal appears to not be a disqualifier to obtain a judgeship in North Carolina. How cool is that?
To be fair to Sammy, there are plenty of other practicing criminals wearing robes in North Carolina and elsewhere who have escaped punishment because Judicial Misfits are held to a lower standard of conduct than you and me.
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