A Houston attorney, Ben Aderholt, was fired after sending a “harassing” letter to a federal judge.
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According to Atlanta Black Star, the law practitioner asked Judge Erica Hughes, “Who do you think you are?” Attorney Aderholt used his firm’s letterhead to mail the nasty letter in February to U.S. immigration Judge Erica Hughes.
She began as a criminal court judge in 2018 before serving on the federal bench in Biden’s administration.
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The level of disrespect in the letter was beyond unprofessional. Hughes immediately released the letter to the public to expose the disrespect Black federal judges might endure.
“I was shocked and surprised to receive that letter, Judge Hughes told Houston’s Fox 26.
What Did The Letter Say?
Aderholt started off by addressing the judicial official by her first name as if they were old friends.
“Calling me Erica, as if we are friends or as if he knows me, started off in the wrong direction,” she stated.
Furthermore, the correspondence got “progressively worse.” Hughes believes the presence of Black female judicial candidates is enraging to some Houstonians.
The Houston attorney labeled judicial officials as “political animals who treat our judiciary as political games.”
Judge Hughes was taken aback by his use of the term “animals”.
She stated, “The ‘animals’ part stands out to me, that an individual in 2024 would show such disdain for an individual they’ve never met.”
Why Was The Houston Attorney So Angry?
Per a statement from the NAACP Houston Branch, the letter allegedly made it clear the issue was about race. It apparently targeted Hughes because she is running “against a sitting white male Democratic judge in Harris County.”
Hughes said, “I expect to be attacked when I serve in the military. I don’t expect to be attacked when I run for a political position in a party, in a democracy in the United States.”
After she announced her race, Judge Hughes was recently accused of forging 102 names on a petition in a lawsuit. But the Texas Supreme Court threw out a lawsuit.
She added:
“It’s very disheartening, in 2024, I receive letters like this calling me an animal, calling me by my first name. I reference the year because of the history in this country, of slavery,” Hughes said.
She continued, “I don’t expect that in 2024. Democracy is what this country was built on. I served in the military, so I can run as a judicial candidate in a free country as long as I’m qualified.”
The ousted attorney’s former firm, Coats-Rose, issued a statement late last month. The company announced Aderholt “practiced poor judgment” and was subsequently fired.
Coats-Rose added that the Houston attorney was terminated because of the letter’s threatening tone.
