Cebull ? now the chief U.S. District Court Judge for Montana ? at the time credited Hatfield "with teaching me that you're nothing special as a judge, and that you have to use commonsense and treat everybody the same way you'd like to be treated." At issue is a racist and vulgar email "joke" about President Barack Obama's mother that Cebull admits to sending from his courthouse chambers last month, touching off a national firestorm of criticism.