Richard Kopf

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Richard Kopf
Image of Richard Kopf

Nonpartisan

United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (senior status)
Tenure

2011 - Present

Years in position

12

Prior offices
United States District Court for the District of Nebraska

Education

Bachelor's

Kearney State College, 1969

Law

University of Nebraska College of Law, 1972

Personal
Birthplace
Toledo, Ohio


Richard Kopf is an Article III federal judge for the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska. He joined the court in 1992 after being nominated by President George H.W. Bush (R). He assumed senior status on December 1, 2011.[1]

Education

Kopf graduated from Nebraska-Kearney in 1969 with his B.A. and graduated from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with his J.D. in 1972.[1]

Professional career

Kopf began his legal career as a law clerk for Judge Donald Ross of the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals from 1972 to 1974. In 1974, Kopf moved back to Nebraska to enter into private practice. He worked as an attorney until joining the court.[1]

Kopf was known on a larger scale as lead counsel for the state of Nebraska in regard to the impeachment of Nebraska Attorney General Paul Douglas in 1984. The Nebraska State Legislature impeached Douglas in connection with his handling of an investigation of a failed bank. Douglas was later acquitted of the charges.[2]

Judicial career

District of Nebraska

On the recommendation of former Congressman Doug Bereuter, Kopf was nominated to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Nebraska by President George H.W. Bush on April 7, 1992, to a seat vacated by Judge Warren Urbom. Kopf was confirmed with the unanimous consent of the U.S. Senate on May 21, 1992, and received his commission on May 26, 1992. Kopf served as the chief judge of the District of Nebraska from 1999 to 2004. He assumed senior status on December 1, 2011.[1][3] Kopf was succeeded in this position by Judge John Gerrard.

Kopf began his judicial career as a federal magistrate judge for the District of Nebraska. He served in this role from 1987 to 1992.[1]

Noteworthy cases

"Boys Don't Cry" killer gets new attorneys appointed (2014)

In January 2014, Kopf permitted John Lotter, a Nebraska death row inmate, to get new attorneys in his case. Lotter had been on the state's death row since 1996, after the 1993 murders of Lisa Lambert, Philip DeVine and Brandon Teena. The movie "Boys Don't Cry" was based on Lotter's nefarious exploits.

Articles:

Multi-state dog-fighting ring (2009-2010)
See also: United States District Court for the District of Nebraska (United States of America, v. Julio Reyes, 4:09-mj-03035-RGK)

Kopf was the judge in a dog-fighting case that was part of an increased crackdown by federal authorities on dog-fighting cases. On July 9, 2009, Kopf allowed Julio C. Reyes, who was allegedly connected to a multi-state dog-fighting ring, to keep his four pit bulls.[4][5]

Public statements

Kopf began publishing a personal blog, "Hercules and the Umpire," in February 2013. In the course of writing for this blog, he attracted national attention for his outspoken views.[6]

After a comment he made about the Supreme Court of the United States in July 2014, Kopf blogged that he had received several requests that he stop blogging. As a response, in an article, he wrote:

“ I care deeply about federal judicial transparency, I don’t see much of that and if I quit there would be even less of it and none of it from federal district judges. The implicit assumption...is that mystery and mythology are better for the legal profession and the judiciary than transparency, particularly when the transparency revealed is raw. I profoundly disagree.[7][8] ”

In the wake of the Ted Cruz comments, Kopf opted to end his blogging. Judge Kopf announced the end of his blog Hercules and the umpire on July 9, 2015. In his final post, Kopf stated how Chief Judge Laurie Smith Camp asked staff and other judges how they felt about the blog, and while they found a large part of it to be thoughtful and insightful, they also felt like it added some level embarrassment to the court.[9]

2015 Ted Cruz comments

Kopf's blog made headlines again in 2015, when he called Sen. Ted Cruz (R) unfit to be president on his blog after Cruz suggested that there should be retention elections for Supreme Court justices in the wake of the Obergefell v. Hodges case, which legalized same-sex marriages in all states. Cruz suggested amending the Constitution to instate retention elections for Supreme Court justices. Kopf replied in his blog that Cruz's reasons for the proposal were "wacko." Kopf went on to describe the importance of why the federal judiciary must remain free from elections and free from popular political opinions. He added that it was "a brilliant and thoughtful method of balancing power in this federal republic."[10]

Kopf's comments were questioned by Washington Post journalist Orin Kerr, who raised the question of Canon 5 of the Code of Conduct for Federal Judges. Canon 5 Section A Subsection 2 states:

“ A judge should not make speeches for a political organization or candidate, or publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for public office.[11][8] ”

Kerr argued that using the terms "unfit" and "demonstrably unsuited" would be read as opposing a candidate. Kopf dismissed this argument by stating that "unfit" being an adjective and "oppose" being a verb cleared him of any possible ethical breach of Canon 5. Kopf reasoned that Canon 4 allowed him to write and speak about matters pertaining to the law, in this case a Constitutional amendment.[12]

2014 Hobby Lobby ruling

After the June 2014 SCOTUS ruling in the Hobby Lobby case, Kopf wrote, "To the average person, the result looks stupid and smells worse. The decision looks misogynist because the majority were all men. It looks partisan because all were appointed by a Republican. The decision looks religiously motivated because each member of the majority belongs to the Catholic church, and that religious organization is opposed to contraception."[13]

Kopf added:

“ Next term is the time for the Supreme Court to go quiescent–this term and several past terms have proven that the Court is now causing more harm (division) to our democracy than good by deciding hot button cases that the Court has the power to avoid. As the kids say, it is time for the Court to stfu.”[13][8] ”

National election law expert Rick Hasen objected to Kopf's choice of words, saying:

“ Look: this is about respect for the rule of law. Lower court judges should not use profanities to criticize the Supreme Court. Even if you disagree vehemently with the Court (as I do quite often), respect for the institution requires some level of decorum. This is especially true for judges who sit in an inferior position to the Court. Just like a member of Congress should not yell out “You lie” to the President during the state of the union regardless of how much that member disagrees with the President, our social fabric depends upon expressing disagreement in a constructive and respectful way...Look, blogging is not for everyone, and I respectfully suggest that Judge Kopf either stop blogging or retire from the bench."[6][8] ”

"Dirty Old Man"

In March 2014, Kopf held forth on his blog about how young women should attire themselves in his court:

“ I have three rules that young women lawyers should follow when considering how to dress for court. 1. You can’t win. Men are both pigs and prudes. Get over it. 2. It is not about you. That goes double when you are appearing in front of a jury. 3. Think about the female law clerks. If they are likely to label you, like Jane Curtin, an ignorant slut behind your back, tone it down.[14][8] ”

He described a female attorney of his acquaintance:

“ "She is brilliant, she writes well, she speaks eloquently, she is zealous but not overly so, she is always prepared, she treats others, including her opponents, with civility and respect, she wears very short skirts and shows lots of her ample chest. I especially appreciate the last two attributes."[14][8] ”

He also indicated that he had "been a dirty old man ever since I was a very young man."[6]

2013 government shutdown

During the October 2013 shutdown of the U.S. federal government, Kopf urged fellow federal judges to designate all judicial employees as essential employees so that they could not be furloughed or temporarily laid off. He wrote:

“ Reject the premise of the question. Given the loss of employees already suffered by the judiciary on account of the sequester and otherwise, why shouldn’t every remaining employee of every federal district court (including FPD employees) be declared 'essential?'[15][8] ”

Kopf also wrote that if the federal judiciary were to follow his advice and declare that all its employees were essential, this would create two options: Congress could do nothing, removing any effect that a shutdown would have on the judiciary, or they could go "batshit" and "have it out."[15]

See also

External links

Footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 Federal Judicial Center, "Biography of Richard George Kopf," accessed August 5, 2014
  2. ↑ OLR Research Report, "Impeachment of State Officials," February 9, 2004
  3. ↑ THOMAS, "Presidential Nominations 102nd Congress: Richard G. Kopf (USDC, DNE)," accessed August 5, 2014
  4. ↑ Beatrice Daily Sun, "Accused dog-fighter’s pets seized," July 10, 2009 (dead link)
  5. ↑ WOWT, "Tecumseh Man Sentenced For Dog Fighting," April 16, 2010
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 Election Law Blog, "No, It’s Not Okay to Publicly Say 'STFU' to the Supreme Court if You are a Federal Judge," July 7, 2014
  7. ↑ Hercules and the Umpire, "We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the dark. The real tragedy of life is when men are afraid of the light," July 11, 2014
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 8.6 Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
  9. ↑ Hercules and the umpire, "Some things are more important than others," July 9, 2015
  10. ↑ Hercules and the Umpire, "Senator Ted Cruz is not fit to be President," July 6, 2015
  11. ↑ United States Courts, "Code of Conduct for United States Judges," accessed July 8, 2015
  12. ↑ Washington Post, "Blogging judge calls political candidate "unfit" for office," July 7, 2015
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Talking Points Memo, "Hobby Lobby Ruling Prompts Federal Judge To Tell Supreme Court To 'STFU,'" accessed July 7, 2014
  14. ↑ 14.0 14.1 Talking Points Memo, "'Dirty Old Man' Judge Wants To Tell Women Lawyers What To Wear," March 26, 2014
  15. ↑ 15.0 15.1 Hercules and the Umpire, "Tell Congress to go to hell–all federal district court employees are essential," October 7, 2013
Political offices
Preceded by:
Warren Urbom 		District of Nebraska
1992–2011
Seat #2 		Succeeded by:
John Gerrard



Nebraska courts

Federal courts:

Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals • U.S. District Court: District of Nebraska • U.S. Bankruptcy Court: District of Nebraska

State courts:

Nebraska Supreme Court • Nebraska Court of Appeals • Nebraska District Courts • Nebraska County Courts • Nebraska Separate Juvenile Courts • Nebraska Workers' Compensation Court • Nebraska Problem-Solving Courts

State resources:

Courts in Nebraska • Nebraska judicial elections • Judicial selection in Nebraska

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