Articles Posted in Here Comes the Judge

Judge Paul Cosgrove was already having a bad day. He was at a meeting of the full Canadian Judicial Council, trying to keep his job. (A panel of 5 judges had voted 4-1 to remove him.) And at that meeting (per the Globe and Mail) …

Adding to Judge Cosgrove’s woes, security was so lax at the Council meeting that a man who managed to plant himself in front of him at one point interrupted the hearing to angrily serve Judge Cosgrove with what he claimed were legal papers.

The man quickly slipped out of the room after calling Judge Cosgrove, “you mother-fucker.”

Think maybe the Judge was proving to be difficult to serve?

Perhaps there is one such family. It involves something that has probably never happened before, nor is it likely to ever happen again. On the same day, the New York Commission on Judicial Conduct found that two brothers should be removed from the bench. The North Country Gazette identified the brothers as follows:

Joseph S. Alessandro, a Justice of the Supreme Court, Westchester County, sits in Goshen and Francis M. Alessandro, a Judge of the New York City Civil Court,sits in Bronx County.

Both matters involve dishonesty. You can read the decision on Joseph Alessandro here, and Francis Alessandro here. Each man has 30 days to appeal.

Connecticut Judge E. Curtissa Cofield said she had one beer and one mixed drink three hours before her blood alcohol level came in at .17, more than twice the legal limit. What do you think she would say if someone made the same claim in her courtroom?

As reported in The Courant, here’s how Judge Cofield was caught:

On Oct. 9 about 10:45 p.m., Cofield sideswiped a parked state police car, occupied by a trooper, with her BMW in a construction zone …

Instead of being contrite, here are a few things she had to say, as recorded by the police video:

Cofield asked [state police Sgt. Dwight] Washington: “Do you have a reading on my urine test, Negro trooper?”

She refused to sign a form and said: “I’m not signing anything, because when it comes down to the bottom line, who’s smarter, me or you? We’ll figure it out, won’t we?”

“I’m sick of being treated like a freaking Negro from the ‘hood,” she said. Asked if she had an illness and needed medication, Cofield said, “Negro-itis” and “I need to take anti-Negro, ummm …”

And this one, which was not in the video, but in the police report:

“Judge Cofield stated that she was the most intelligent person in the room and threatened our careers. … While speaking on her cellphone, Judge Cofield referred to Sgt. Washington as the ‘Head n—– in charge.'”

So what’s next for Judge Cofield, Connecticut’s first black female judge? The DUI and another charge will be dismissed if she successfully completes an alcohol education program. She’s also awaiting word from the Judicial Review Council, which held a hearing on January 26 on misconduct charges against her. Here’s the source.

In Italy, you can be a part-time Judge and a practicing attorney. So there were these identical twins, one of whom was a part-time Judge and a lawyer. The other sister had finished law school, but was not a practicing attorney, or so everyone thought.

Seems the Judge (Gabriela Odisio) was double-booked, and asked her sister to stand in for her! And it worked the other way too, with Patrizia sitting as a Judge for her sister. It worked for 3 years! How did they get busted? Slip of the lip. A client overheard them talking about it!

Beyond a reasonable doubt, this violates the 8th Amendment’s prohibition on cruel and unusual punishment. Seems that Colorado Judge Paul Sacco was tired of seeing the same rockers in his courtroom for noise violations. It was obvious to him that the fines were not a deterrent. So he came up with a new form of punishment, as reported by 9news.com:

“These people should have to listen to music they don’t like.”

What would that be? Barry Manilow! NOOOOOOOOO! And Barney the Purple Dinosuar! Uncle! I give! Please …. just ….. stop ….

Having been charged with OUI (operating under the influence), Jorge Pinto appeared for a Hearing before Judge James McGovern of Bristol County, Massachusetts. The problem? Pinto was drunk – in court! The Judge was tipped off to this, so he ordered a breathalyzer test. It showed that Mr. Pinto’s blood alcohol level was .08, over the limit. And how did Mr. Pinto get to court? He drove!

According to the report in the Taunton Daily Gazette, despite the fact that he knew Mr. Pinto drove to court, Judge McGovern let him go! And?

Minutes later, state police pulled Pinto’s car over and he was arrested for drunk driving after failing several field sobriety tests.

An assist to Assistant District Attorney Casey Smith “for pointing troopers in the direction of Pinto’s car after he left court.” But that’s not the end of it. There are allegations that Judge McGovern tried to sweep the whole thing under the rug.

Reports say [Assistant County Attorney] Smith told police that upon hearing the information, the judge told her, “Well I assume that [Pinto] will be brought back to this court today for arraignment… and I’m telling you right now I’m inclined to dismiss the entire thing.” …

According to reports, [Sgt. Thomas] Higginbotham remarked that the interference from the court was “completely out of line and likely amounted to judicial misconduct.”

Is the Judge in the soup?

[District Attorney spokesman Gregg] Miliote said any allegations of wrongdoing by a state judge are handled by the Massachusetts Commission on Judicial Conduct. The agency’s Executive Director Jill Pearson would not say if there is a complaint regarding McGovern.

Click here for the source.

If you’re out on bail for some serious crimes, how do you leave the country, without permission, and not get in trouble? Here’s how: you’re in the Army, and your unit gets called to Iraq (and nobody tells the Judge!) Per the Alabama Press-Register:

In May 2006 a grand jury indicted Sean Sebastian Lane, 33, for enticing a child younger than 16 via a computer, attempting to entice a child younger than 16, two counts of transmitting obscene material to a child younger than 16, and attempting to invite a child younger than 16 to enter a vehi cle, house, office or other place for the purpose of a sexual act.

After police arrested Lane in August 2007, he posted $25,000 bail and was released, according to court records. In May, Lane’s attorneys asked Circuit Court Judge Lang Floyd to allow the defendant to leave the state.

“Mr. Lane is on temporary leave from Iraq and is scheduled to report back for duty July 1, 2008,” the motion states. Lane, who is from Arizona, was stationed at Fort Rucker, according to one of his attorneys.

Well guess what happened before Judge Floyd could rule on the motion? Lane was deployed to Iraq! His lawyers then asked Judge Floyd to reconsider his denial of the motion. He was not pleased.

“I am shocked someone with the right authority didn’t know this,” Floyd said about the bond order and pending charges.

So what is the government’s position in cases like this?

“We are a nation at war, but however no one is above the law,” [Army spokesman Nathan] Banks said. “If it was something that was passed forward, I find it hard to believe that the Army didn’t honor it.”

What did Judge Floyd decide? (In other words, should Lane be allowed to leave the state?!#@)

Floyd, who didn’t rule Thursday, said he planned to contact Army officials to discuss the situation.

And if he sticks to his original decision, refusing to allow Lane to leave the state? Here’s the source.

What could a Judge do to please so many men? As reported by the AP:

It won’t be last call for ladies’ night. A New York federal judge has a tossed out a suit claiming that drink discounts for women discriminate against men. The case was filed by attorney Roy Den Hollander, who also recently sued a university over its women’s studies program. The judge ruled that nightclubs are free to set whatever prices they like. Hollander calls the female judge a feminist and contends the dismissal of his suit is another example of anti-male discrimination.

Maybe it was just a coincidence, but the Juice remembers that there always seemed to be more women at the offending bars…

Several parents have accused Cameron County (Texas) Justice of the Peace Gustavo “Gus” Garza of ordering them to paddle or spank their kids in court. Per The Brownsville Herald:

This morning, [Judge] Limas will hear the request for a temporary restraining order against Garza first brought last week by Mary Vasquez and her husband Daniel Zurita, who filed a lawsuit against the justice of the peace, a former state district attorney and special prosecutor.

They allege that Garza compelled Zurita to spank his teen stepdaughter under threat that she would be found guilty of a criminal offense and fined $500 for not attending school unless spanked.