This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Youreallycan (talk | contribs) at 19:41, 11 April 2012 (Undid revision Youreallycan - I do not support this content addition but I am forced to replace it as I am around 3rr - note - I do not support this content addition in any way -it is User:Goetheans addition). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.
Revision as of 19:41, 11 April 2012 by Youreallycan (talk | contribs) (Undid revision Youreallycan - I do not support this content addition but I am forced to replace it as I am around 3rr - note - I do not support this content addition in any way -it is User:Goetheans addition)(diff) ← Previous revision | Latest revision (diff) | Newer revision → (diff)| Richard F. Cebull | |
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| Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office July 25, 2001 | |
| Appointed by | George W. Bush |
| Preceded by | Jack D. Shanstrom |
| Magistrate Judge of the United States District Court for the District of Montana | |
| In office 1998–2001 | |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1944 (age 80–81) Roundup, Montana (see note) |
| Alma mater | Montana State University (B.S.) University of Montana School of Law (J.D.) |
Richard Frank Cebull (born 1944) is a United States District Judge for the United States District Court for the District of Montana.
Early life and career
Born and raised in Roundup, Montana, Cebull received a B.S. from Montana State University in 1966 and a J.D. from the University of Montana Law School in 1969. He was in private practice in Montana from 1969 to 1997. He was a Trial Judge of the Northern Cheyenne Tribal Court from 1970 to 1972.
Federal judicial service
Cebull served as a United States Magistrate Judge for the District of Montana from 1998 to 2001. On May 17, 2001, Cebull was nominated by President George W. Bush to a seat on the United States District Court for the District of Montana vacated by Jack D. Shanstrom. Cebull was confirmed by the United States Senate on July 20, 2001, and received his commission on July 25, 2001. He became chief judge in 2008.
In a 2002 case brought by natural beef producers the Charter family against the United States Department of Agriculture, Cebull upheld the constitutionality of the Beef Promotion and Research Act of 1985, a government-mandated commodity checkoff program for the United States beef industry. The Charter family objected to being forced to pay into the fund, thus associated against their will with political and economic positions taken by the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, the primary checkoff contractor. Cebull ruled that "The federal government created and controls the beef checkoff program. … Because the government may utilize private speakers to disseminate content-oriented speech, the Act does not violate the rights of free speech or association." The ruling was vacated and remanded by the Ninth Circuit in 2005.
In 2004, Cebull granted the Ranchers-Cattlemen Action Legal Fund and the United Stockgrowers of America an injunction against imports of Canadian cattle over concerns of a potential bovine spongiform encephalopathy outbreak. After rulings from the United States Department of Agriculture and protests from the Canadian government, the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit reversed Cebull's injunction in July 2005.
On February 20, 2012, Cebull used his official courthouse email address to forward to seven friends an email containing a racist joke about President Barack Obama. In the joke, Obama asks about his ethnicity, and his mother replies "you're lucky you don't bark." Cebull said he "didn't send it as racist," but rather "sent it out because it's anti-Obama." On March 1, 2012, Cebull initiated a misconduct complaint against himself with the Ninth Circuit and sent a letter of apology to Obama and his family. The Crow Tribal Legislature and an editorial opinion article in the New York Times called for his resignation or impeachment.
Notes
- His Ninth Circuit biography says Cebull was born in Billings, Montana.
References
- Adams, John S. (March 3, 2012). Peers, friends defend Montana judge in uproar over racist joke email. Great Falls Tribune
- District Judges: Biographies
- Kaiser, Harry Mason (2005). Economics of commodity promotion programs: lessons from California. Peter Lang, ISBN 9780820472713
- Bohrer, Becky (November 2, 2002). Checkoff program ruled constitutional for Montana beef. Associated Press
- Charter v. USDA, 230 F.Supp.2d 1121 (D.Mont. 2002)
- Charter v. USDA, 412 F.3d 1017 (9th Cir. 2005)
- Price-Smith, Andrew T. (2009). Contagion and chaos: disease, ecology, and national security in the era of globalization. MIT Press, ISBN 9780262662031
- Federal judge says he sent racist Obama email | UTSanDiego.com
- "Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about president". Great Falls Tribune. February 29, 2012.
{{cite news}}:|access-date=requires|url=(help) - ^ "Chief U.S. District Judge sends racially charged email about president". The Lowdown. 29 February, 2012. Retrieved 10 April, 2012.
{{cite web}}: Check date values in:|accessdate=and|date=(help) - Circuit Statement Regarding Montana Judge
- "Letter to President Barack Obama" (PDF). Ninth Circuit. March 1, 2012. Retrieved March 2, 2012.
- Johnson, Clair (March 19, 2012)Crow Legislature calls for Judge Cebull's removal. Billings Gazette
- Editorial staff (March 5, 2012). Judge Cebull’s Racist ‘Joke.’ New York Times
External links
- Richard F. Cebull at the Biographical Directory of Federal Judges, a publication of the Federal Judicial Center.