Lenient state judges

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Lenient state judges

Judge Virginia Crandall, I find you guilty of giving a break to a murder defendant based on an idiotic technicality.

Is this the same judge who released the alleged killer of the tourist from New Mexico?

[craigwatanabe]

Re: Lenient state judges

And less than a year before this latest tragedy, Riveral was convicted of speeding by more than 20 mph.

How does one get convicted on a speeding ticket in excess of 20mph? Last time I got caught speeding it was 25mph over the speed limit (I was trying to beat a yellow light). All I got was a ticket to mail in with a check for a couple hundred bucks and sucky abstract for a few years. No conviction just a mail in ticket.

He must have been going waaayyyy over 20mph for a conviction to have occured right?

[Ron Whitfield]

Re: Lenient state judges

Anybody that would play politics with our judicial system should be allowed to enjoy our penal system.

[escondido100]

Re: Lenient state judges

I dont understand why the fact that he had motive and premeditation was ruled inadmissable.
the woman in a civil trial was testifying against him. is this coincidence?
the judge should have let the prosecutor do their job and show why this is not a coincidence. juries are not stupid when presented with facts. it seems a judge was not confident in their ability to conduct a fair trial with all the facts of the case laid out.
certainly a good prosecutor can get these facts into a trial.
I also understand that 1st degree murder in many states is usually reserved for the killing of police officers. maybe this is such a sacred cow that by letting someone who merely planned and killed someone like you and me be convicted of 1st degree is too much. sounds like there may be some politics involved.

[Ron Whitfield]

Absolutely horrible decision...

He could actually be out at the age of 32, for the premeditated murder of a witness against him in another trial.
Pathetic.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

Judge Virginia Crandall, I find you guilty of giving a break to a murder defendant based on an idiotic technicality.

17 year old Vernon Bartley, originally facing a 1st degree murder charge for the premeditated killing of neighbor who was about to testify against him for the burglary of her home, will instead be facing a 2nd degree murder charge. This is significant, because a 2nd degree conviction will give him the chance for parole, while a 1st degree conviction would put him away for good.

KITV news story

Terrible ruling, Judge Crandall! For that boneheaded decision (which might possibly lead to Bartley getting out of prison while he is still in his 30s), you are the latest entry in this judicial hall of shame.

[musubi]

Re: Lenient sentence (Riveral case)

There's no question this was a lenient sentence. However, Judge Town gets the benefit of the doubt from me on this one. I would hope that as a condition of his staying out of prison, Riveral needs to stay out of trouble of any kind. No using his brain injury as an excuse not to keep his nose clean. And finally, if it hasn't already been done so, Riveral's driving license should be permanently revoked. If he's going to work at a job, he's gonna have to either catch a ride from somebody else or catch the bus.

I saw this one on KITV also. They said he was going over 100 miles an hour when he crashed!
However, it appeared that the wishes of the girl's family (that Riveral not go to prison) were a key factor in Judge Town's leniency.

In addition to the conditions you suggested in exchange for no jail time, my thought was that some community service should also be included... perhaps in the form of appearing at some driver's ed classes, etc.

Maybe some kids would think twice about street racing if they saw and heard a firsthand account from Riveral about how his poor choices and actions resulted in the death of the girl he loved...

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

Judge Michael Town gives no prison time to a man convicted of manslaughter. Jayppy Riveral was racing another car on the Moanalua Freeway when he crashed, resulting in the death of his 19 year old passenger/girlfriend.

http://www.kitv.com/news/20937825/detail.html

One could easily sympathize with Riveral, seeing as how the crash has resulted in obvious symptoms of brain damage. And it should be said that the dead girl's family stated to Judge Town that they didn't want to see Riveral imprisoned.

OTOH, this was the second major car wreck that Riveral has gotten into. And less than a year before this latest tragedy, Riveral was convicted of speeding by more than 20 mph.

There's no question this was a lenient sentence. However, Judge Town gets the benefit of the doubt from me on this one. I would hope that as a condition of his staying out of prison, Riveral needs to stay out of trouble of any kind. No using his brain injury as an excuse not to keep his nose clean. And finally, if it hasn't already been done so, Riveral's driving license should be permanently revoked. If he's going to work at a job, he's gonna have to either catch a ride from somebody else or catch the bus.

[Kaonohi]

Re: Lenient state judges, et. al.

I'm not certain if this BLOG fits here. If it does, absorb it, if not, give me hell.

FWIW:

545 vs 300,000,000

EVERY CITIZEN NEEDS TO READ THIS AND THINK ABOUT WHAT THIS JOURNALIST HAS SCRIPTED IN THIS MESSAGE. READ IT AND THEN REALLY THINK ABOUT OUR CURRENT POLITICAL DEBACLE.
Charley Reese has been a journalist for 49 years..

545 PEOPLE

By Charlie Reese
Politicians are the only people in the world who create problems and then campaign against them.
Have you ever wondered, if both the Democrats and the Republicans are against deficits, WHY do we have deficits?
Have you ever wondered, if all the politicians are against inflation and high taxes, WHY do we have inflation and high taxes?
You and I don't propose a federal budget. The president does.
You and I don't have the Constitutional authority to vote on appropriations. The House of Representatives does.
You and I don't write the tax code, Congress does.
You and I don't set fiscal policy, Congress does.
You and I don't control monetary policy, the Federal Reserve Bank does.
One hundred senators, 435 congressmen, one president, and nine Supreme Court justices equates to 545 human beings out of the 300 million are directly, legally, morally, and individually responsible for the domestic problems that plague this country.
I excluded the members of the Federal Reserve Board because that problem was created by the Congress. In 1913, Congress delegated its Constitutional duty to provide a sound currency to a federally chartered, but private, central bank.
I excluded all the special interests and lobbyists for a sound reason.. They have no legal authority. They have no ability to coerce a senator, a congressman, or a president to do one cotton-picking thing. I don't care if they offer a politician $1 million dollars in cash. The politician has the power to accept or reject it. No matter what the lobbyist promises, it is the legislator's responsibility to determine how he votes.
Those 545 human beings spend much of their energy convincing you that what they did is not their fault. They cooperate in this common con regardless of party.
What separates a politician from a normal human being is an excessive amount of gall. No normal human being would have the gall of a Speaker, who stood up and criticized the President for creating deficits.. The president can only propose a budget. He cannot force the Congress to accept it.
The Constitution, which is the supreme law of the land, gives sole responsibility to the House of Representatives for originating and approving appropriations and taxes. Who is the speaker of the House? Nancy Pelosi. She is the leader of the majority party. She and fellow House members, not the president, can approve any budget they want. If the president vetoes it, they can pass it over his veto if they agree to.
It seems inconceivable to me that a nation of 300 million can not replace 545 people who stand convicted -- by present facts -- of incompetence and irresponsibility. I can't think of a single domestic problem that is not traceable directly to those 545 people. When you fully grasp the plain truth that 545 people exercise the power of the federal government, then it must follow that what exists is what they want to exist.
If the tax code is unfair, it's because they want it unfair.
If the budget is in the red, it's because they want it in the red ..
If the Army &Marines are in IRAQ , it's because they want them in IRAQ
If they do not receive social security but are on an elite retirement plan not available to the people, it's because they want it that way.
There are no insoluble government problems.
Do not let these 545 people shift the blame to bureaucrats, whom they hire and whose jobs they can abolish; to lobbyists, whose gifts and advice they can reject; to regulators, to whom they give the power to regulate and from whom they can take this power.. Above all, do not let them con you into the belief that there exists disembodied mystical forces like "the economy," "inflation," or "politics" that prevent them from doing what they take an oath to do.
Those 545 people, and they alone, are responsible.
They, and they alone, have the power.
They, and they alone, should be held accountable by the people who are their bosses.
Provided the voters have the gumption to manage their own employees.
We should vote all of them out of office and clean up their mess!
Charlie Reese is a former columnist of the Orlando Sentinel Newspaper.
What you do with this article now that you have read it.......... Is up to you.
This might be funny if it weren't so darned true.
Be sure to read all the way to the end:

Tax his land,
Tax his bed,
Tax the table
At which he's fed.

Tax his tractor,
Tax his mule,
Teach him taxes
Are the rule.

Tax his work,
Tax his pay,
He works for peanuts
Anyway!
Tax his cow,
Tax his goat,
Tax his pants,
Tax his coat.
Tax his ties,
Tax his shirt,
Tax his work,
Tax his dirt.

Tax his tobacco,
Tax his drink,
Tax him if he
Tries to think.

Tax his cigars,
Tax his beers,
If he cries
Tax his tears.

Tax his car,
Tax his gas,
Find other ways
To tax his ass.

Tax all he has
Then let him know
That you won't be done
Till he has no dough.

When he screams and hollers;
Then tax him some more,
Tax him till
He's good and sore.
Then tax his coffin,
Tax his grave,
Tax the sod in
Which he's laid.

Put these words
Upon his tomb,
Taxes drove me
to my doom...'

When he's gone,
Do not relax,
Its time to apply
The inheritance tax.
Accounts Receivable Tax
Building Permit Tax
CDL license Tax
Cigarette Tax
Corporate Income Tax
Dog License Tax
Excise Taxes
Federal Income Tax
Federal Unemployment Tax (FUTA)
Fishing License Tax
Food License Tax
Fuel Permit Tax
Gasoline Tax (currently 44.75 cents per gallon)
Gross Receipts Tax
Hunting License Tax
Inheritance Tax
Inventory Tax
IRS Interest Charges IRS Penalties (tax on top of tax)
Liquor Tax
Luxury Taxes
Marriage License Tax
Medicare Tax
Personal Property Tax
Property Tax
Real Estate Tax
Service Charge T ax
Social Security Tax
Road Usage Tax
Sales Tax
Recreational Vehicle Tax
School Tax
State Income Tax
State Unemployment Tax (SUTA)
Telephone Federal Excise Tax
Telephone Federal Universal Ser vice FeeTax
Telephone Federal, State and Local Surcharge Taxes
Telephone Minimum Usage Surcharge=2 0Tax
Telephone Recurring and Non-recurring Charges Tax
Telephone State and Local Tax
Telephone Usage Charge Tax
Utility Taxes
Vehicle License Registration Tax
Vehicle Sales Tax
Watercraft Registration Tax
Well Permit Tax
Workers Compensation Tax

STILL THINK THIS IS FUNNY? Not one of these taxes existed 100 years ago, and our nation was the most What in the hell happened? Can you spell 'politicians?'
And I still have to 'press 1' for English!?

I hope this goes around THE USA at least 100 times!!! YOU can help it get there!!!
GO AHEAD - - - BE AN AMERICAN!!!

K: What does it take to be an American?

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

Federal judge David Ezra gets criticized (along with US attorney Ed Kubo) by an appeals court judge for his handling of a 2007 criminal trial, overturning his ruling.

http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/ar...t+at++07+trial

A federal appeals court has sharply criticized the conduct of a federal prosecutor in a 2007 criminal trial here of a man charged with assaulting military police officers at Mokule'ia.

Gentler criticism was also leveled in the same opinion at the defense attorney and judge involved in the case.

"Everyone could have done more to protect defendant's rights at trial," said the opening sentence of the opinion, written this week by Alex Kozinski, Chief Judge of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The ruling overturned the conviction of Rex Harrison on one of two counts of assault and vacated his sentence of two years in prison, and ordered that the case be returned to U.S. District Judge David Ezra for resentencing.

************************

The judge also found fault with the defense lawyer and Ezra.

"Indeed, everyone involved could have done better," said Kozinski.

"The defense attorney should have objected as soon as he saw the prosecutors step out of line. And the respected and experienced district judge should not have tolerated this protracted exhibition of unprofessional conduct."

************************

Ezra declined comment.

Ha! Take that, Judge Ezra.

What I would like to know is how higher court judges would view Ezra's lenient sentencing of Tony Rutledge.

[Frankie's Market]

Re: Lenient state judges

Steve Alm is a role model to all..

I concur with your opinion re: Judge Alm!

I'm beginning to think that perhaps we need tribunals to decide non-jury trials and to impose sentences. If more and more judges are going to act like renegades and cowboys, then maybe it is time to take away the very powerful and important responsibility of adjudicating cases from a single person.

[leashlaws]

Re: Lenient state judges

Steve Alm is a role model to all. He's my only salvation in the system.

[Vanguard]

Re: Lenient state judges

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,3679452.story

How about this judge?

And this Judge!

And this relatively old news.

Long I have believed that our judicial system was not only corrupt, but also corrupted, as any element exposed to the elements would be.

They are for sale

Just as we are required to submit our automobiles to undergo an annual safety inspection, shouldn't we also require all of our representatives and judges to undergo an annual sanity inspection?

Agreed. I believe we also need more of these.

[Kaonohi]

Re: Lenient state judges

Long I have believed that our judicial system was not only corrupt, but also corrupted, as any element exposed to the elements would be.

We place our "TRUST" in the hands of old men (and old women), former lawyers (even worse), who have prejudices, trigger points, and "absolute power" (within the guidelines of law), to 'do as they will,' to mete 'justice,' often arbitrarily.

Although they work within guidelines, evidently something is wrong. The system is flawed, perhaps outdated.

Leniency is dealt to career criminals while first offenders (because of naivete) get maximum punishment.

Sorry, I have no answers short of revolution, because no one upstairs is listening. I'm tired of form letters from Inoue and Akaka. (Although Inoue wrote me a non-form letter recently in which he said he wanted to outlaw all semi-automatic weapons in civilian hands! Then ending it with his promise to support second-amendment rights! I think he's overdue for a brain safety inspection!)

Seriously:

Just as we are required to submit our automobiles to undergo an annual safety inspection, shouldn't we also require all of our representatives and judges to undergo an annual sanity inspection?

Where has justice gone?
I am terrified at the freedoms we are losing.

[Walkoff Balk]

Re: Lenient state judges

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/l...,3679452.story

How about this judge?