Immunity from Criminal Prosecution

Students in my constitutional law courses know (or will know) that the President probably enjoys absolute immunity from criminal prosecution while he is in office. Most legal scholars maintain that the President must first be impeached before he can face criminal charges. But as this post over at the always informative Jurist website notes, judges do not enjoy the same kind of immunity from prosecution. U.S. Federal District Court Judge Samuel Kent recently was convicted of obstruction of justice related to a sexual harassment complaint filed against him. He is now serving 33 months in prison. However, Kent is still a federal court judge. Remember, the only means for removing judges in the federal system is via the impeachment process. This process, as one would expect, has already been started for his removal.