"The Right to a Fair Trial" from a Racist Suspect From [HERE] A Montana federal judge who sent a racist e-mail about President Obama from his courthouse, and later said he did it because he was "not a fan of our president," will retire from the bench next month, according to the appeals court that investigated his conduct.

U.S. District Judge Richard Cebull's February 2012 posting caused a furor and prompted civil rights groups to call for his resignation. Cebull then apologized to Obama for what he called his "serious mistake and lack of judgment," and later transferred to senior judicial status, effective last month, with a reduced caseload but a full salary. In a statement Tuesday on the website of the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco, Chief Judge Alex Kozinski said Cebull "has submitted his retirement letter" effective May 3.

Cebull did not write the offensive material, but admitted forwarding the message on February 20, 2012 to a few friends after it was sent to him by his brother. The Great Falls Tribune was given a copy and reported that the message said:

"Normally I don't send or forward a lot of these, but even by my standards, it was a bit touching. I want all of my friends to feel what I felt when I read this. Hope it touches your heart like it did mine.

"A little boy said to his mother, 'Mommy, how come I'm black and you're white?' His mother replied, 'Don't even go there Barack! From what I can remember about that party, you're lucky you don't bark!'"

Kozinski said a court committee had conducted a "thorough and extensive investigation," which included interviews with Cebull and other witnesses, resulting in an order March 15 by the Judicial Council, the disciplinary body for the nine-state circuit. He said the order is being kept confidential until the 63-day appeal period has expired.

Cebull was appointed to the bench by President George W. Bush in 2001 and became Montana's chief federal judge in 2008.

After the message surfaced in Montana newspapers 10 days later, Cebull told reporters he had gotten the e-mail from his brother and had never intended for it to become public.

"The only reason I can explain it to you is I am not a fan of our president, but this goes beyond not being a fan," he said. "I didn't send it as racist, although that's what it is. I sent it out because it's anti-Obama."

A call to Cebull's chambers Tuesday was referred to the clerk of the court, who did not respond to an inquiry.