He’s left the building! Missouri judge loses job for ‘routinely’ wearing Elvis wig on bench, playing his music at hearings
He should have tried “A Little Less Conversation.”
A Missouri judge lost his job for repeatedly making irrelevant Elvis Presley references during hearings, playing his music at swearings-in and even wearing an Elvis wig — along with other bizarre behavior on the bench, according to court papers.
St. Charles County Circuit Judge Matthew Thornhill resigned Friday after a disciplinary committee found he “routinely” sported the Elvis-style pompadour wig and aviator sunglasses — along with his robe — while making rulings around Halloween season, the court documents state.
While rocking the King costume, he allegedly had a strange Elvis-centric swearing-in process.
“[Thornhill] would let litigants and or witnesses select how they would be sworn in prior to testifying,” the court papers state.
“One option involved [Thornhill] playing Elvis Presley music from his phone. [He] would refer to Elvis Presley during court proceedings, such as referring to Elvis Presley’s date of birth or death when such statements were irrelevant to the proceedings before the court.”
The rock-n-roll loving judge ultimately “failed to maintain order and decorum in the courtroom,” the Missouri Commission on Retirement, Removal and Discipline found.
Thornhill was also found to have mentioned his “preferred candidates” for an election to multiple people in court, violating rules prohibiting “political activity” in the courtroom, according to FOX 2 Now.
The commission found that Thornhill once hand-delivered a “personal reference” to a judge in a case involving parental rights and the adoption of a child, breaking a rule that forbids judges from appearing as character witnesses.
Asked about his Elvis schtick, Thornhill said the wig and music were meant to “add levity” and relax litigants— but he now realizes how it disturbed the serious nature of the court proceedings, court papers said.
Thornhill ultimately agreed to a six-month unpaid suspension followed by a nonrevocable resignation.
He will then be banned from holding any future judicial offices in Missouri. Thornhill couldn’t immediately be reached for comment.
