NY Lawyer: Judge Resigns Over Racist Remarks Made in Online Chat Room
Content remains forever available online through search engines, but otherwise smart people often forget that, saying things online that they would never say in person. A chat room transcript managed to nab a judge this past month, making racist comments on an Internet board. Richmond, VA General District Judge Ralph B. Robertson resigned after having been fingered for statements suggesting that blacks have a biological tendency toward violence.
The Richmond Free Press, a weekly newspaper with a predominantly black readership, reported Thursday that Robertson, 60, decided to leave the bench five years before the end of his term, knowing that disclosure of his statements could forever brand him as a judge unable to hear cases fairly. A member of the chat room gave the judge's comments to the Free Press. Most of them were posted between Jan. 25 and Feb. 19, and Robinson confirmed to the paper that he wrote them.
