Former States Atty to Judges: I'm wishing you'd fall over dead.
Do you think this is going to affect his standing in the legal community? Two judges have filed recusals for hearing cases filed by Robert Chavis after he had some light criticism for them. Okay, so it wasn't light criticism. He was merely wishing for their deaths.
The Yankton Press and Dakotan originally reported it, and the Rapid City Journal picked it up (which is where I read it):
The Yankton Press and Dakotan originally reported it, and the Rapid City Journal picked it up (which is where I read it):
Two South Dakota First Judicial Circuit Court judges have recused themselves from hearing future cases brought forth by a former Yankton County state’s attorney after they said he left a voice message asking why they couldn’t “fall over dead.” According to a joint recusal filed by judges Arthur Rusch and Glen Eng, Robert Chavis left the message on the local circuit court voice mail Sept. 18 after the death of First Judicial Circuit Court Judge Lee Anderson.I'll just bet he was on vacation. Read it all here at the Rapid City Journal.
Rusch and Eng state in the recusal they can “positively” identify the voice as belonging to Chavis.
and...
Chavis apparently believed he was leaving the message with someone else, and after saying some derogatory things about First Circuit Court administrator Kim Allison, the transcript quotes him as saying: “(Judge Anderson) was a good guy, I’ll tell you what. He was a lawyer, and he has a little compassion, and he could recall what it was like to work his (expletive) off. The good ones die. Why can’t Eng or Rusch fall over dead, you know? I’ll tell you what, I have no idea. (inaudible) Why doesn’t Rusch fall over dead?”
Chavis was on vacation in Europe this week and could not be reached for comment.
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