April 13, 201412 yr I love this judge. A man accused of being a bully against some disabled neighbors had to serve 15 days in jail and hold a sign that told the neighborhood he was a bully. http://www.seattlepi.com/news/us/article/Ohio-man-sits-at-corner-with-I-AM-A-BULLY-sign-5398949.php
April 13, 201412 yr I think that judges are limited to the punishments set out by statute. Whereas the defendant in this case may deserve this, it is still illegal if not provided for by the state legislature. A judge imposing an illegal penalty is just as much a crook as this guy is.
April 13, 201412 yr Active Members What if the extra-judicial punishment is framed as a voluntary act of penance to avoid a stiff term in durance vile?
April 13, 201412 yr What if the extra-judicial punishment is framed as a voluntary act of penance to avoid a stiff term in durance vile? "Ah say, boy, you in a heap o' trouble!"
April 14, 201412 yr Did he agree to it? I don't gather that from this article: http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/I-AM-A-BULLY-sign-holder-calls-sentence-unfair-5398949.php
April 14, 201412 yr Author Did he agree to it? I don't gather that from this article: http://www.sfgate.com/news/us/article/I-AM-A-BULLY-sign-holder-calls-sentence-unfair-5398949.php He plead guilty and it was part of his plea bargain.
April 14, 201412 yr Active Members He plead guilty and it was part of his plea bargain. To be precise, my reading of the articles indicates that he pleaded no contest. My understanding is that in a legal sense there is a distinction between pleading guilty and no contest (in which typically the defendant still refuses to admit guilt). I haven't been able to find anything that indicates a plea bargain but that wouldn't surprise me. However I believe such a plea bargain would usually be worked out between the defendant and the prosecutor (from my years of watching Law and Order) and would focus on charges/pleadings with the prosecutor making recommendations on sentencing. However the judge still decides on the final sentencing (and can even reject the plea agreement) within the guidelines set forth for the crime. So I wouldn't be surprised if the defendant was surprised himself at the sentence that eventually came down. There was some initial discomfort in thinking about the judge overstepping her authority in the sentencing but in this case I am pretty much ok now with the punishment fitting the crime. Besides, the defendant has legal counsel so if there were some serious issues with the sentencing then his lawyer should have acted. I am pretty sure this guy won't be bothering his neighbor anytime soon.
April 14, 201412 yr No US criminal code that I am aware of allows a judge to impose public humiliation as a sentence. The crime itself may cause that, but the judge is not allowed to aggravate it. This judge should be removed from the bench.
April 14, 201412 yr Active Members No US criminal code that I am aware of allows a judge to impose public humiliation as a sentence. The crime itself may cause that, but the judge is not allowed to aggravate it. This judge should be removed from the bench. I am not sure there is, on the other hand, anything that prevents public humiliation specifically...as long as it doesn't cross the line for whatever standard is applied for being cruel and unusual punishment. This type of public humiliation does have precedence, i.e. shoplifters standing outside a store holding a sign identifying them as shoplifters (ref: http://news.lawreader.com/2007/05/10/854/) and a driver who killed someone to stand at the scene with a sign saying as such (ref: http://www.rid-usa.org/rid-usa-inc/2012/04/23/judge-hands-out-justice-by-humiliation/), to name just two that I came across. I keep coming back to the fact that the guy had an attorney and certainly could have gotten a stay or some kind of temporary hold by appealing (based on some argument that it would be cruel and unusual punishment). Granted that may be just too much for a misdemeanor, but I would think there were options.
April 14, 201412 yr Perhaps he didn't have the money to pay his lawyer for any other additional action.
April 14, 201412 yr Author If he strikes a plea deal and agrees to it and it kept him out of a longer jail sentence or other punishments and he knew the consequences of the plea arrangement and he agreed to them, I don't see the issue.
April 14, 201412 yr The judge is the one entrusted by the public with the appropriate enforcement of the law. Could the judge require a blow job in return for probation? No, the judge has to act within the parameters of the law. Same here.
April 14, 201412 yr Author The judge is the one entrusted by the public with the appropriate enforcement of the law. Could the judge require a blow job in return for probation? No, the judge has to act within the parameters of the law. Same here. I just don't see how holding a sign saying, "I am a bully" is any more embarrassing than wearing orange jumpsuits and picking up trash on the highway.
April 14, 201412 yr Well, that's you. Orange has a very practical value in making the prisoner easy to identify. That is a pretty valid reason. Picking up trash in an orange jumpsuit makes the defendant safer from errant traffic. It has been argued that the defendant agreed to the sign, yet in the several articles I have read on it, I don't find that at all. I will concede that the defendant sounds like a real jerk.
April 14, 201412 yr Active Members No US criminal code that I am aware of allows a judge to impose public humiliation as a sentence. The crime itself may cause that, but the judge is not allowed to aggravate it. This judge should be removed from the bench. Maybe he could go sit on the FISA Court. Or something.
April 15, 201412 yr Author Well, that's you. Orange has a very practical value in making the prisoner easy to identify. That is a pretty valid reason. Picking up trash in an orange jumpsuit makes the defendant safer from errant traffic. LOL Orange is hideous! I would never be caught dead in it. Can't think of a more horrid fate than orange suit with brown shoes.
April 15, 201412 yr You must not be Dutch. When I first went to Queensday in Amsterdam, almost everyone was wearing orange on some or all part(s) of their body.
April 15, 201412 yr The judge is the one entrusted by the public with the appropriate enforcement of the law. Could the judge require a blow job in return for probation? No, the judge has to act within the parameters of the law. Same here. As the judge is a woman I rather doubt if she would be interested in a blow job
April 15, 201412 yr It's a rhetorical point, zip. You suggesting zip is not a sufficiently (ahem) cunning linguist?
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