Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Knoxville Horror Judge Richard Baumgartner Arrested on Federal Charges

By David in TN

Former Judge Richard Baumgartner has been arrested on Federal drug charges. Baumgartner faces seven federal counts that allege he failed to report felonious activity.

"The formal charges are misprision of a felony, the legal lineage of which can be traced to England."

Evidence showed Baumgartner would go to a hospital to visit Deena Castleman, a drug probationer in his court and with whom he was sharing drugs and having sex. Hospital personnel reported him going into Castleman's room and staying there for a long time with the door shut.

Baumgartner was arrested on Tuesday and brought into federal court in downtown Knoxville. He pleaded not guilty.

We are again reminded that Nicholas Stix dubbed Baumgartner "Judge Mischief," a term that doesn't begin to describe the wreckage he caused while presiding over the Knoxville Horror trials. After the arrest, I don't see how the Tennessee Supreme Court will not reject the latest appeal and order the retrials to go forward.

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