{"id":137153,"date":"2025-11-19T14:07:34","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:07:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/11\/19\/judge-pushed-to-retire-over-halloween-showmanship\/"},"modified":"2025-11-19T14:07:34","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T22:07:34","slug":"judge-pushed-to-retire-over-halloween-showmanship","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/xira.com\/p\/2025\/11\/19\/judge-pushed-to-retire-over-halloween-showmanship\/","title":{"rendered":"Judge Pushed To Retire Over Halloween Showmanship"},"content":{"rendered":"

Halloween, much like MLK Day, has reached the special status of being a holiday you know<\/em> someone is going to get fired over because they committed a little too hard to the bit. The usual \u201cgo collect your belongings\u201d scenario involves people who decide to dress up in Blackface<\/a> or as a Nazi<\/a> \u2014 the latter sometimes having so much attention to detail <\/a>that you wonder if their costume is a year-round thing behind closed doors. But this Halloween nixing didn\u2019t seem to come from a place of hate \u2014 just a Burning Love<\/a> for Elvis the Pelvis<\/a>. STL Mag has coverage:<\/p>\n

A St. Charles County judge who traded his black robes for an Elvis jumpsuit is being forced into retirement\u2014and 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.<\/p>\n

As part of an agreement with the Missouri Supreme Court\u2019s Commission on Retirement, Removal, and Discipline, Thornhill will serve a six-month unpaid suspension. After that, he\u2019ll 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tough crowd. You can see photos of his costume below:<\/p>\n

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Not only was this clearly because of the holiday, Halloween fell on a Friday this year. You\u2019re 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> a couple of days in advance \u2014 maybe Thornhill\u2019s mistake was that he didn\u2019t give folks a heads-up.<\/p>\n

In case you\u2019re reading this with a Suspicious Mind<\/a>, playing dress up isn\u2019t the only reason he\u2019s in the hot seat. Judge Thornhill violated Missouri Supreme Court rules by blabbing about his political affiliations and \u201chand-delivering an affidavit vouching for a party in an adoption case,\u201d but those substantive reasons aren\u2019t nearly as interesting as him swearing in litigants as Elvis songs played from his phone, so that\u2019s not where I\u2019ll be focusing my attention.<\/p>\n

If this were a Judges Behaving Badly<\/a> story with a little more gravitas, I\u2019d recommend Judge Thornhill to spend the six-month unpaid suspension reading up on why taking Ambien isn\u2019t an excuse to shout racial slurs<\/a> or why handcuffing sleeping children in your courtroom isn\u2019t the best practice<\/a>, but considering the facts presented, I\u2019ll just recommend that Thornhill make A Little Less Conversation<\/a> about his political affiliations and to pay more attention to reading Above the Law \u2014 his costume would have been a strong contender for our 16th annual Legally Themed Halloween Costume Contest<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Elvis-Loving St. Charles County Judge Forced To Retire After Dressing Like His Idol<\/a> [STL Mag]<\/p>\n

Earlier<\/strong>: SDNY Judge Tells Biglaw Lawyers \u2018Costumes Optional\u2019 For Friday Hearing<\/a><\/p>\n

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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\u2122 in the Facebook group\u00a0Law School Memes for Edgy T14s . \u00a0He 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,\u00a0is 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\u00a0cwilliams@abovethelaw.com <\/a>and by tweet at\u00a0@WritesForRent<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n

The post Judge Pushed To Retire Over Halloween Showmanship<\/a> appeared first on Above the Law<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Halloween, much like MLK Day, has reached the special status of being a holiday you know<\/em> someone is going to get fired over because they committed a little too hard to the bit. The usual \u201cgo collect your belongings\u201d scenario involves people who decide to dress up in Blackface<\/a> or as a Nazi<\/a> \u2014 the latter sometimes having so much attention to detail <\/a>that you wonder if their costume is a year-round thing behind closed doors. But this Halloween nixing didn\u2019t seem to come from a place of hate \u2014 just a Burning Love<\/a> for Elvis the Pelvis<\/a>. STL Mag has coverage:<\/p>\n

A St. Charles County judge who traded his black robes for an Elvis jumpsuit is being forced into retirement\u2014and 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.<\/p>\n

As part of an agreement with the Missouri Supreme Court\u2019s Commission on Retirement, Removal, and Discipline, Thornhill will serve a six-month unpaid suspension. After that, he\u2019ll 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.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tough crowd. You can see photos of his costume below:<\/p>\n