SUIT SEEKS TO BAR EX-JUDGE FROM CONGRESS

                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 2, 1993                   TAG: 9301020092
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO   
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: FORT LAUDERDALE, FLA.                                LENGTH: Short
SUIT SEEKS TO BAR EX-JUDGE FROM CONGRESS
A lawsuit seeks to prevent Rep.-elect Alcee Hastings from taking his seat in Congress because of his impeachment when he was a federal judge.
Hastings, a Democrat, is scheduled to be sworn in as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday.
The suit filed Wednesday in U.S. District Court seeks to have his Nov. 3 election nullified on grounds that his 1989 impeachment conviction disqualifies him from ever again holding office. Hastings is the first federal official ever removed through impeachment to later win election to Congress.
In 1989, the House impeached Hastings over his alleged involvement in the bribery conspiracy and for allegedly making false statements at his 1983 trial. He was convicted by the Senate.
The Constitution reads in part: "Judgment in the cases of impeachment shall not extend further than to removal from office, and disqualification to hold and enjoy any office of honor, trust, or profit under the United States."
Hastings, Florida's first black U.S. district judge, was indicted in 1981 on charges of conspiring to receive a $150,000 bribe to reduce the sentences of two convicted racketeers. He was acquitted by a jury in 1983.

by Bhavesh Jinadra by CNB