Last updated December 4, 2010 10:12 a.m. PT

Senate to decide fate of impeached federal judge

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

FILE - In a Sept. 13, 2010 file photo, US District Judge G. Thomas Porteous, for the Eastern District of Louisiana, center, listens to testimony, on Capitol Hill in Washington, during a Senate Impeachment Committee hearing to hear arguments and receive evidence presented by the parties during his impeachment trial. The Senate is set to begin deciding Tuesday, Dec. 7, 2010 whether to remove Porteous from Louisiana after the House impeached him on corruption charges. Porteous could become just the eighth federal judge to be removed from the bench. (AP Photo/Manuel Balce Ceneta, File)

The Senate is set to begin deciding Tuesday whether to remove a federal judge from Louisiana after the House impeached him on corruption charges.

The House voted unanimously in March to bring four articles of impeachment against G. Thomas Porteous (POR'-tee-us). A two-thirds Senate vote is needed to convict. Porteous could become just the eighth federal judge to be removed from the bench.

A Senate committee has finished the evidence-gathering phase and will present its report to the full Senate.

House prosecutors say Porteous began accepting cash and other favors from people with business before his court, beginning as a state judge.

Defense lawyers have sought to portray his behavior as business as usual in the New Orleans-area legal community.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

WASHINGTON -- The Senate is set to begin deciding Tuesday whether to remove a federal judge from Louisiana after the House impeached him on corruption charges.

The House voted unanimously in March to bring four articles of impeachment against G. Thomas Porteous. A two-thirds Senate vote is needed to convict. Porteous could become just the eighth federal judge to be removed from the bench.

A Senate committee has finished the evidence-gathering phase and will present its report to the full Senate.

House prosecutors say Porteous began accepting cash and other favors from people with business before his court, beginning as a state judge.

Defense lawyers have sought to portray his behavior as business as usual in the New Orleans-area legal community.

INSIDE SEATTLEPI.COM