When you’re a judge and there’s a conflict of interest, it can pose a huge problem - especially with a controversial decision

When you work in law enforcement, you cannot let personal feelings affect you on the job. You can’t.

You can be angry or furious over the personal feelings of a suspect you’re arresting or someone that’s in your court, but the millisecond you let these feelings take over and get in the way of judgment, disaster could easily follow afterwards.

I know how tough it can be – I’ve seen it in several cases – but cooler heads must prevail and the code of the law must be followed. Period.

Which has me wondering what U.S. District Court of D.C. Judge Christopher Cooper was thinking with a decision that was made last week.

Over the weekend, Cooper ordered the removal of President Donald Trump’s name from the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, noting that his administration’s rebranding of the institution was illegal. He ordered the removal of any signage pointing to Trump to be taken down within the next 14 days.

Trump initially believed he would simply brush the center aside to focus on other things. However, an interesting new wrinkle suggests that Cooper may have acted harshly based on personal feelings.

According to Fox News, the Judge’s wife, Amy Jeffress, who previously served with the Justice Department as an attorney under former President Barack Obama, has ties with anti-Trump actions. She “represented a former anti-Trump FBI lawyer, served as counsel to the House Jan. 6 Committee and currently represents former President Joe Biden.” Though many believe Cooper acted on behalf of what was right with the Kennedy Center staff, this shows a conflict of interest.

Trump noted on Truth Social, “Trump Hating Judge wants to keep it open because his wife probably told him to do so!”

Of course, we could argue until we’re blue in the face about how the Kennedy Center board pushed too far past its legal authority for the renaming, and how Congress instead should have a hand in it. The problem here, however, is Cooper’s actions.

It’s very easy for a spouse – or even a close friend – to convince you to follow their beliefs. Absolutely. I’ve seen people turn on a dime to avoid having an argument or some form of discussion just to avoid conflict.

But, again, that brings up how it can affect you in your job.

Imagine someone who has deep racial feelings acting differently against blacks or Hispanics while they’re on duty. There have certainly been cases arguing about this in the past, and we’re likely to see more in the future.

You can’t. Bottom line.

That’s because the letter of the law has to be followed to a T. All people are treated equally. Even if they’re a low-level cretin that gets their kids violating and hurting children. They’re awful people, to be sure. But they’re still suspects, and to be arrested and judged accordingly.

That kind of judgment can inject mayhem into a situation. Just like the people who insist ICE agents aren’t doing their job properly and hurting everyone they come across. The fact is, they’re not, and their progress record shows they’re doing exactly what’s asked of them. Are they perfect? No, there are outstanding scenarios. But they’re being investigated.

Bottom line, Cooper may have had certain reasoning surrounding his decision with the Kennedy Center. And he may be onto something when it comes to Congress taking action. But there’s just too much out there to suggest he did this as a grudge against Trump.

All I ask is some form of investigation. Let’s take a look deeper into the matter and see how much Cooper was influenced. We’ve seen situations in the past where a judge tries to show sympathy in the wrong case, like with Judge Hannah Dugan’s poor decision to protect a suspect from ICE agents. It’s just a matter of fairness and making sure they’re in the right frame of mind.

I hope Cooper’s decision was based on facts and not just his wife telling him it’s the right thing to do. Guess we’ll find out soon enough.