Judge in Courtroom Death Reinstated
But members still recommended Murphy for reappointment, concluding that he "honestly believed that Mr. Waters was feigning illness during his appearance in court," according to the letter. "The record also reflects that Judge Murphy had an extremely heavy workload on April 20."
King, who has known Murphy about 25 years, said he discussed with the commission the idea of Murphy's taking sensitivity training. But King said that he decided against it and that he didn't think he had the authority to order such an action.
Murphy's colleagues and friends said in April that the incident gave a misleading view of him in the context of his 40-year career. He often impressed people as being fair and honorable in his professional dealings. But many lawyers and co-workers noted that he had a reputation for harshness, especially for offenders such as Waters, who cycle through the system.
Ronald Richardson, commission chairman, said that because of confidentiality laws, he and other members of the seven-member panel could not discuss the decision or identify the three members who voted against recommending reappointment. The other members are Mary E. Baluss, Gary C. Dennis, Kumiki Gibson, William P. Lightfoot, Mary Lou Soller and U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler.
Murphy last April was in the throws of a busy afternoon docket of traffic and misdemeanor cases when Waters, a homeless man in court on a charge of drinking alcohol in public, collapsed in front of the defense table.
"Get me to D.C. General!" he shouted over and over, according to three witnesses. "I need air!"
Murphy peered over the bench, called for nurses and kept hearing cases, according to the witnesses. As Waters lay prone in the well of the court, struggling for breath with a nurse at his side, defense attorneys and prosecutors haggled over plea bargains and fines.
"There wasn't anything else we could have done. . . . He looked like a street person," Murphy said later. "He kept yelling for air. I finally leaned over and told him, 'Well, if you'd quit yelling, maybe you could get some air.' "
After 10 minutes, U.S. marshals pulled Waters to his feet and returned him to the cellblock, where he died.
© 2001 The Washington Post Company
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_____Correction_____
Beginning on April 27, 2001, The Washington Post published a number of articles and editorials about Robert L. Waters Jr., a defendant who collapsed in the D.C. Superior Courtroom of Senior Judge Tim Murphy on April 20, 2001, and died later that day after being found unconscious in a courthouse cell.On Aug. 10, 2003, The Post published a correction concerning some aspects of its coverage. The correction was based largely on a partial transcript of the proceedings and the findings of the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure, which investigated the incident. The Post subsequently obtained a complete transcript of the day's events and listened to a tape of the proceedings. The tape and complete transcript show that part of the Post's correction was in error. The correction said "no other cases were called and the judge did not conduct any other court business until Waters had left the courtroom." The tape and transcript show that Murphy heard two cases over about three minutes while a nurse tended to Waters before escorting him from the courtroom.
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The Washington Post published 14 articles, two editorials and two columns referring to the April 20, 2001, death of Robert L. Waters Jr., a defendant who appeared before Senior Judge Tim Murphy in D.C. Superior Court. Some of them incorrectly or incompletely described certain circumstances of the case. It was incorrectly reported on April 27, 2001, and in six subsequent articles, one editorial and one column that Judge Murphy kept calling other cases as Waters was lying on the floor of his courtroom. According to a transcript of the proceedings, when Waters collapsed, Judge Murphy was informed that Waters had "done this twice already. The doctor checked him out twice. He's fine." A courtroom clerk summoned a nurse. Waters's defense lawyer was not present in the courtroom. The judge said, "He can lie there. Won't affect business one bit. Okay. Keep calling the other cases." But no other cases were called and the judge did not conduct any other court business until Waters had left the courtroom. Waters's defense lawyer arrived and Murphy proceeded to enter a not guilty plea in Waters's case, set bond, adjourn the matter and request a medical alert. It was incorrectly reported that Waters died in Murphy's courtroom in an article that appeared July 24, 2002, and in an editorial the following day. Waters was examined by a nurse and then walked out of the courtroom. He was found unconscious in a courthouse cell, one hour and 45 minutes later. Articles that appeared on Feb. 1 and Feb. 2, 2002, incorrectly reported that Judge Murphy resigned from the bench after the incident was publicized. Chief Judge Rufus G. King III did not assign cases to Murphy while his application to the D.C. Commission on Judicial Disabilities and Tenure for an additional term as a senior judge was pending. The commission subsequently found that Judge Murphy's "failure to recess the proceeding immediately while medical attention was provided to Mr. Waters, coupled with some of the remarks [from the bench] . . . eroded public confidence in the judiciary." The commission also found that Murphy "honestly believed" Waters was feigning illness and recommended his reappointment as a senior judge.
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_____From The Post_____
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Episode Stuns Judge's Admirers (The Washington Post, May 5, 2001)
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Nurses Replaced After Man Dies (The Washington Post, May 3, 2001)
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D.C. Judge Apparently Joked About Death of Defendant (The Washington Post, May 2, 2001)
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Judge Who Doubted Dying Man Steps Down (The Washington Post, May 1, 2001)
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Collapsed Defendant Probably Suffered Fatal Asthma Attack (The Washington Post, Apr 28, 2001)
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Dying Man's Shouts Went Unheeded (The Washington Post, Apr 27, 2001)
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