It's probably not the sort of news that will turn heads among the masses, but the beginning of impeachment proceedings against U.S. District Judge G. Thomas Porteous of Louisiana is no small deal. Since the founding of the republic, just seven federal judges have been expelled from office through impeachment and conviction. Although, relatively speaking, the practice has become more common in recent years (two of history's seven expelled judges have been convicted since 1989), it remains highly uncommon: the seven expulsions stand dwarfed by the 3,000 some odd judges in the history of the federal judiciary.