UPDATE: In the Comments Fore Left has given the credit to the Commercial Appeal for being the first to report the connection of Ford, Senior and the Judge.
UPDATE: Fore Left is reporting here that The Honorable Judge Donald was appointed upon reccomendation of U.S. Congressman Harold Ford, Sr. Junior’s daddy and brother to Ophelia Ford. I could not obtain this information from the bio that I located. Fore Left is and was able to go deeper than I am.
U.S. District Judge Bernice Donald has granted a stay, prohibiting the State Senate from continuing with a vote today to void the election and remove Ophelia Ford, the sister of indicted ex-senator John Ford and aunt to Democrat United States Senate candidate Harold Ford, Jr.
Here is a bio that I obtained on the Honorable Judge Donald.
Honorable Bernice B. Donald
US District Judge, United States District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, Memphis, Tennessee
The Honorable Bernice Donald was nominated to the U.S. District Court on December 7, 1995 by President William Clinton, confirmed by the United States Senate on December 22, 1995 and took the bench on December 26, 1995. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Donald served as a US Bankruptcy Judge, also on the US District Court for the Western District of Tennessee, from 1988-1995. She served as a Judge of the General Sessions Criminal Court of the State of Tennessee form 1982-1988, and as an Assistant Public Defender in the Shelby County Public Defender’s office in Memphis, Tennessee, from 1980-1982.
Earlier legal practice included working as a Staff Attorney, Employment Law and Economic Development Unit, Memphis Area Legal Service; and as an attorney in private practice. Judge Donald taught form 1984-1989 as an Adjunct Professor at Shelby State Community College. Judge Donald received her BA in 1974 from Memphis State University, and her JD in 1979 form Memphis State University Law School.
What O’ What do I do?
Brian, although I’d like to take credit, it must be given to the Memphis Commercial Appeal here. Their reporter made the link between Ford, Sr and the judge. But thank much for the link!
West TN is really buzzing about a federal judge stopping a state proceeding, but it’s not the first time we’ve been abuzz due to something a Ford did.
How does the east-state view Ford Junior’s chances of gaining enough support to win the US Senate seat?
The issue in East TN is that the Democrat party is such a non-factor. The real buzz is the Republican race and who WILL beat Junior. The few democrats that we have over here, try to downplay that Junior is a Ford. But from August – November 2006, Junior can run but he can not hide. His silence on his aunt speaks volumes.
Apparently we (Republican East Tennessee) do not have enough Republicans in this bastion of the GOP to get a gubernatorial candidate to run against Nashville Phil…
Considering that there ARE so many Republicans here, I find it beyond hard to believe…it is bazaar. I still want to know who is being paid off.
I think the Fords live in a West Tenn vacuum that says the entire state behaves like Memphis. Maybe we don’t give Memphians enough credit…they are not all stupid enough to support the Fords.
Ast for East Tenn being so historically Republican…someone forgot to leave that memo with my wife’s Grandfather, who is utterly convinced that the GOP is the embodiment of Lucifer…and he is a life-long East Tennessean.