Survivor 4 Contestant Opposed Booty Dancing as a Judge

At 57 years old, Judge Paschal English is the eldest of the Survivor: Marquesas contestants. He and his wife, Beverly, have two children, Ashley and Rachel. However, he has also had a notable history already, though in ways that seem a bit, well, odd.

As a Superior Court judge in Georgia, English has had a number of news-making cases. In 1998, he dealt with a paternity case against boxer Evander Holyfield (he ordered the papers sealed). This case made the pages of CNN SI.

In 1997, he ruled against Lee Hunt in a contempt action even though Hunt claimed that Jill Hunt, the plaintiff, had not complied with Georgia discovery law. The case was written up in the Fathers Are Parents, Too Newsletter. According to the newsletter, “Instead of forcing the plaintiff to comply with discovery as required by state law and under due process constitutional rights, Judge English decided to hear the contempt action over the protests of Mr. Hunt that he would not be able to provide an adequate defense if the plaintiff was not forced to comply with discovery requests from Defendant Hunt. Mr. Hunt says that his case was just one example of how judges are biased and abuse judicial process, allowing the favored to get away with lying in court, and teaching them that the system will support them in their efforts by not requiring them to produce evidence as required when requested as part of discovery. Mr. Hunt is appealing Judge English’s decision based on violations of due process among others.”

English heard the case of Fayette County’s worst multiple murderer, 66-year-old Isaac Jerry Pearson, who pled guilty to killing Donnie Gee, Barbara Clark, 16-year-old Nikki Underwood, and three-year-old Doeyanna Burton on December 28, 1999. English sentenced him to life without parole (the prosecution declined to ask for the death penalty because of the length of time such cases take).

Judge English denied a request for appeal in 1999 when a 19-year-old was issued a traffic citation for underage possession of alcohol. The 19-year-old appealed because he wasn’t doing anything that had to do with traffic! English’s refusal to grant the appeal, and the guilty verdict itself, was overturned by the Georgia Court of Appeals.

Speaking of traffic, English halted a planned concert to benefit Habitat for Humanity because the Senoia Raceway – where it was to be held – was not zoned for concerts and the expected crowd would cause traffic, sanitation, and security problems. Mind you, the concert was expected to bring in $100,000 for the charity.

But all of these cases pale in comparison to the media attention he got with a ruling on “booty dancing.” In fact, when Judge English appears on the CBS Early Show after being voted off (sorry, but I can’t see him making it to the finals), it will not be his first time there. He appeared on September 1, 2000, along with sex educator Deborah Roffman and dancers Q Pittman and Shelly Masenoir, to discuss booty dancing!

Why was Judge English an expert on booty dancing? It certainly wasn’t because he participated. Quite the opposite. Judge English shut down a teen club called Market in summer 2000 because “booty dancing” took place there. Prosecutors showed English a tape of the dancing, taken secretly by a Sheriff’s Department employee, and he found it so offensive that he had to take action. Not only was the club shut down, but the owners were charged with contributing to the delinquency of a minor. The dancing itself apparently involves the girl/woman grinding her, well, booty into her male partner’s groin. Mind you, everybody still has their clothes on. But one police official said it was “promoting sex under the excuse of dancing.” English apparently agreed.

When defense attorneys objected, saying he just was biased against rap music, he retorted, “They could have been dancing to ‘Jesus Loves Me,’” according to an Associated Press article. He added, “I don’t care what they’re doing in New York, San Francisco, Atlanta or anywhere else in this country.”

You thought there were conservatives on Survivor before? You ain’t seen nothing yet. I’m sure he’ll get along just great with the younger members of his tribe. I just hope none of ‘em shake their booties.

Peggy Keller contributed information to this article.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site and be registered for giveaways and special offers!

For even more news about reality TV, be sure to check out RealityTVFans.com, SirLinksALot and the Manly Man!