Chief Judge Nottingham: Putting the 'Ho' in Your Honor?
Longtime readers will recall that Chief Judge Edward Nottingham (D. Colorado) is no longer eligible for our coveted Judge of the Day prize. After he threatened to call the U.S. Marshals service on a handicapped woman whose handicapped parking spot he stole, a few short months after it was revealed he dropped more than $3,000 at a strip club in two consecutive days -- but couldn't remember doing so, 'cause he was so darn drunk -- we decided it wasn't fair to the rest of the judiciary to leave him in the competition.
That call now appears prescient. From Denver 9 (via the Rocky Mountain News):
[T]he U.S. Court of Appeals for the 10th Circuit is investigating Chief U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham for the third time in the past year. He is being investigated for improper judicial conduct after his full name and personal cell phone number appeared on a list of clients from a Denver prostitution business.The business called Denver Players or Denver Sugar was shut down in January after IRS and Denver Police investigators served search warrants at the brothel on Fillmore Street.
First the prominent governor of a leading state, and now the chief federal judge in a major city. Are high-class call girls a growing trend in the upper echelons of the legal profession?
More details, including the judge's highly appropriate nickname -- no, not "Paulie Walnuts" -- after the jump.
Evidence in addition to the phone records points in the direction of Judge Nottingham:
The driver spoke to 9NEWS on the condition of anonymity. 9NEWS has verified his identity and that he has no criminal record in Colorado. The driver has signed an affidavit confirming the information he told 9NEWS and says he would testify in court regarding his story.The driver told 9NEWS he took prostitutes to meet Judge Nottingham at two locations in the Denver area about 10 times during the summer of 2007.
One of those locations is a condo in Denver listed as the residence of Edward Nottingham III, the judge's adult son. The son's name is listed on the condo directory at 1489 Steele Street, apartment #307, Denver.
Letting your dad use your condo to meet up with hookers? Now that's what we call filial piety.
The driver says the prostitutes would mention Judge Nottingham by name before and after their appointments with him and frequently referred to the judge by his nickname: "Naughty."The driver described one conversation with a prostitute about Nottingham. "She was like, well, 'It's Naughty.' I said, 'Who's that?' She said, 'A federal judge.' She said, 'He's on some big trials and stuff like that.'"
"Yeah. Like he was the judge on the Doritos case... No, Fritos... No, the Nachos trial. That's it. It was in the paper all the time a few years ago. Remember?"
The driver says he saw Judge Nottingham outside the condo complex on Steele Street interacting with the prostitutes several times."They always seemed pretty affectionate, you would almost think they were a couple by the way that they acted together," the driver told 9NEWS. "They would hug each other and almost kiss on the cheek and then they would go inside."
The driver says the women returned from their meeting with the judge with $300 or $400 in cash per visit.
A few hundred bucks for each "meeting"? Apparently "Denver Sugar" is no Emperor's Club, which New York Governor Eliot Spitzer paid four-figure sums per tryst.
But Edward Nottingham is a federal judge, not the scion of a wealthy real estate family. As of 2008, U.S. district judges take home $169,300 a year. On that kind of pay, dropping a few grand on a single night of prostitute-provided pleasure would not be prudent.
A new argument for a judicial pay raise?
Chief federal judge investigated for alleged involvement with prostitutes [9News]
Report: Judge under scrutiny [Rocky Mountain News]
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Chief Judge Edward Nottingham (scroll down)
(40) Comments
This guy looks nothing like Mr. Phillabaum
First!
that is walnuts.
Someone has to stop these hookers from taking down all these politicians! Think of the children!
his hairdo is the reverse skunk
this is all so cliche - can some politico or judge do something original already? It would be so much more interesting if they - perhaps - stole a car for joyriding or robbed a bank with a note stating they had a bomb.
12:07, that's just not as much fun.
if I were going to risk my political career I would at least, I dunno, use the New York National Guard in an attempt to overthrow the federal government and establish a dictatorship. No imagination with these fuckin' guys . . . .
He's not a judge; he's a Czechoslovakian. Some kind of interior decorator.
whats wrong with getting laid. either take her to dinner and a show or give her the $500, no big deal.
I heard he flipped his shit when he found out that Maria Nuccia is not his real mother.
He looks like a member of the cast of the "Sopranos."
Seriously - all men pay for it and all women do it for money. The only difference is whether they use dollars, dinner, or diamonds. (note use of serial comma)
Paully Wallnuts paying for a hooker. Not a chance. He would just pick one up down at the strip club.
These allegations are complete BS.
To "hidden truth"---some of us actually like it for its own sake. Not your partners apparently.
Anonymouse - you may like it for its own sake, but you still would prefer to do it with the fifth year associate with the 2,500 sq. ft. apartment then the paralegal sharing a 2 bedroom with 3 other guys along the PATH in Jersey.
12:19--
Serial comma use noted. Nice work, son.
Everyone knows that the Bing has better looking girls than Denver Sugar. Paulie never would have stooped that low.
Is this guy married?
12:50 --
Most people (including your girlfriend) aren't as materialistic as you.
Since when is Denver a "major city"?
It's a good city, perhaps even "great" in many ways. There are a few nice areas to live within Denver, and Evergreen, Boulder and Fort Collins (and the communities surrounding those areas) are within commuting range (and for the lucky few, it's possible to work right in Boulder). Its proximity to the mountains is the Denver's biggest plus, and the weather doesn't hurt either.
If lucky enough to land one of the few biglaw jobs available on the Front Range (or if one has little to no loans remaining), the Denver area can make for a great lifestyle (assuming one seriously enjoys skiing/snowboarding, biking, kayaking/rafting, climbing, hiking, camping). But "major" city it is not.
Yo, 12:52, thanks dog! I am a big serial comma fan myself. Did you go to PENN State Law School in Philly? Go Nittany Lions.
Matters not what you say, Lat. That dude's Paulie Walnuts.
1:01 - most girls are materialistic, and when I say "most girls" I mean "most of the hot shallow girls."
to 12:50:
My guy makes significantly less than a paralegal, and lives in a house with three other guys. (Yes, they have their own bedrooms.) I'm marrying him. And I pay for at least half of the dates (since I make more, I work it so I pay more for the expensive ones.)
If they're after you for your money, that might say something about your other qualities . . .
They're not working girls. They're, um, his law clerks. Yeah. Capice!!!?
and that may something about your other qualities sugar mama @ 1:08.
So paying slightly more than half when dating makes me a sugar mama?
Has a woman ever bought you a drink? I'm thinking no.
Paulie Walnuts is back...
First 'Client 9' and now 'Denver 9'?
Clearly there is a vast right wing conspiracy afoot to frame lusty dems as payback for Lusty larry Craig.
I love Adele Arikawa on Denver 9. Some pretty freaky hairdo's at times, but she's a goddess for her age, and a great anchor too.
So if I'm hot but not shallow, I buy my own dinner most of the time, and I think diamond jewelry is a monumental waste of resources, what does that make me?
One Web site has been covering Nottingham for some time. See http://www.knowyourcourts.com/Nottingham/Nottingham.htm
What a fitting (and expected) end to his career.
Shhh, lady lawyer, we don't exist.
Lady lawyer,
It makes you cheap of course.
We should do dinner sometime.
"First the prominent governor of a leading state, and now the chief federal judge in a major city. Are high-class call girls a growing trend in the upper echelons of the legal profession?"
Naive some? High-class call girls have always been a staple of the legal profession. Judging from recent events, however, prices may have shot up enough that people can't afford to bribe the cops anymore when they caught. The market downturn is hurting us all.
To 5:42--You're just afraid of a woman you can't buy. Man up. There are lots of us.
To 5:58--Actually, I am afraid of all women, whether I can buy them or not (there are, incidentally, a lot in the former category). My therapist says it has something to do with my mother, but I don't trust her because I think she's on the CIA's payroll.
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2008/3/8/205154/9309/366/472557
I think Judge Nottingham hurt me because he was blackmailed.
It is now confirmed that the Tenth Circuit Judicial Council is, indeed, investigating Chief Judge Edward Nottingham, notwithstanding his attorney's denial regarding the same. See http://www.knowyourcourts.com/Harrington/08-10-372-06.htm