Hard-nosed judge not afraid of controversy

TEXAS born and bred, Judge Melinda Harmon is no stranger to big hats, controversy or the oil industry and she has the temperament to go against the grain of popular opinion even if it brings her unwanted media attention.

Harmon last hit the headlines as the hard-nosed judge who jailed a young female crime writer for failing to turn over her notes related to a murder case. The writer, Vanessa Leggett, spent five months in jail on contempt of court charges before Harmon would release her.

Harmon garnered praise for her handling of the class action suits against Waste Management, another company accused of making misleading financial statements that lost bundles for shareholders.

The case was a landmark because of its large size and because it was one of the first in which the large institutional shareholders successfully wrestled down lawyers' fees to less than 10%. Waste Management, another Arthur Andersen client, eventually settled for $457m(£319m). The judge is well versed in the oil energy business, having been a house lawyer for Exxon for 13 years before being appointed to the bench by the first President George Bush in 1989.