Halloween,
much
like
MLK
Day,
has
reached
the
special
status
of
being
a
holiday
you
know
someone
is
going
to
get
fired
over
because
they
committed
a
little
too
hard
to
the
bit.
The
usual
“go
collect
your
belongings”
scenario
involves
people
who
decide
to
dress
up
in
Blackface
or
as
a
Nazi
—
the
latter
sometimes
having
so
much
attention
to
detail
that
you
wonder
if
their
costume
is
a
year-round
thing
behind
closed
doors.
But
this
Halloween
nixing
didn’t
seem
to
come
from
a
place
of
hate
—
just
a
Burning
Love
for
Elvis
the
Pelvis.
STL
Mag
has
coverage:
A
St.
Charles
County
judge
who
traded
his
black
robes
for
an
Elvis
jumpsuit
is
being
forced
into
retirement—and
his
mania
for
The
King
is
partly
to
blame.
Disciplinary
charges
accuse
Judge
Matthew
Thornhill
dressing
like
Elvis
Presley
in
court
on
Halloween,
making
Elvis
references
in
court,
and
even
playing
Elvis
tunes
in
his
courtroom.
As
part
of
an
agreement
with
the
Missouri
Supreme
Court’s
Commission
on
Retirement,
Removal,
and
Discipline,
Thornhill
will
serve
a
six-month
unpaid
suspension.
After
that,
he’ll
be
allowed
to
return
for
an
18-month
stint,
but
must
retire
after
that
and
promise
to
never
seek
reelection,
a
deal
that
allows
him
to
retire
with
20
years
of
service.
Missouri
judges
who
are
at
least
62
years
old
and
have
served
20
years
can
retire
with
full
benefits.
Tough
crowd.
You
can
see
photos
of
his
costume
below:
Not
only
was
this
clearly
because
of
the
holiday,
Halloween
fell
on
a
Friday
this
year.
You’re
forcing
a
guy
to
retire
for
what
he
wore
on
casual
Friday?!
So
much
for
judges
being
able
to
set
the
local
rules
for
their
courtrooms!
A
New
York
judge
recently
granted
counsel
the
option
of
wearing
costumes
to
work
for
Halloween
a
couple
of
days
in
advance
—
maybe
Thornhill’s
mistake
was
that
he
didn’t
give
folks
a
heads-up.
In
case
you’re
reading
this
with
a
Suspicious
Mind,
playing
dress
up
isn’t
the
only
reason
he’s
in
the
hot
seat.
Judge
Thornhill
violated
Missouri
Supreme
Court
rules
by
blabbing
about
his
political
affiliations
and
“hand-delivering
an
affidavit
vouching
for
a
party
in
an
adoption
case,”
but
those
substantive
reasons
aren’t
nearly
as
interesting
as
him
swearing
in
litigants
as
Elvis
songs
played
from
his
phone,
so
that’s
not
where
I’ll
be
focusing
my
attention.
If
this
were
a
Judges
Behaving
Badly
story
with
a
little
more
gravitas,
I’d
recommend
Judge
Thornhill
to
spend
the
six-month
unpaid
suspension
reading
up
on
why
taking
Ambien
isn’t
an
excuse
to
shout
racial
slurs
or
why
handcuffing
sleeping
children
in
your
courtroom
isn’t
the
best
practice,
but
considering
the
facts
presented,
I’ll
just
recommend
that
Thornhill
make
A
Little
Less
Conversation
about
his
political
affiliations
and
to
pay
more
attention
to
reading
Above
the
Law
—
his
costume
would
have
been
a
strong
contender
for
our
16th
annual
Legally
Themed
Halloween
Costume
Contest.
Elvis-Loving
St.
Charles
County
Judge
Forced
To
Retire
After
Dressing
Like
His
Idol
[STL
Mag]
Earlier:
SDNY
Judge
Tells
Biglaw
Lawyers
‘Costumes
Optional’
For
Friday
Hearing
Chris
Williams
became
a
social
media
manager
and
assistant
editor
for
Above
the
Law
in
June
2021.
Prior
to
joining
the
staff,
he
moonlighted
as
a
minor
Memelord™
in
the
Facebook
group Law
School
Memes
for
Edgy
T14s
.
He
endured
Missouri
long
enough
to
graduate
from
Washington
University
in
St.
Louis
School
of
Law.
He
is
a
former
boatbuilder
who
is
learning
to
swim, is
interested
in
critical
race
theory,
philosophy,
and
humor,
and
has
a
love
for
cycling
that
occasionally
annoys
his
peers.
You
can
reach
him
by
email
at [email protected]
and
by
tweet
at @WritesForRent.