tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post6647363431965741769..comments2023-09-15T04:27:57.129-04:00Comments on Commentarama: Two States, But The Same TravestyAndrewPricehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11312364467936820986noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-21836090597068640232011-12-13T11:31:43.446-05:002011-12-13T11:31:43.446-05:00Joel: "If they were proven guilty, then they...Joel: "If they were proven guilty, then they'd be hangin' quickly, instead of writin' books and smiling on TV." Perfect!LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-85572780042648174592011-12-13T10:26:21.903-05:002011-12-13T10:26:21.903-05:00LawHawk,
This song makes me wish the South did wi...LawHawk,<br /><br /><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlDkgk3SMPg" rel="nofollow">This song</a> makes me wish the South did win!<br /><br />Notice what he would do about the Supreme Court!Joel Farnhamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15856960977033430002noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-13073922911720294132011-12-12T16:29:15.343-05:002011-12-12T16:29:15.343-05:00tryanmax: I don't know about your state's...tryanmax: I don't know about your state's rules, but in California local and district state judges must have a minimum number of years (usually, five) of actual practice before being seated on the bench. But anybody (literally anybody) with a law degree and a Bar license can be appointed to the appellate and Supreme Court bench without ever having practiced law or having sat on the bench.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-25550699088316524422011-12-12T16:22:17.332-05:002011-12-12T16:22:17.332-05:00How can I get appointed a judgeship with no legal ...How can I get appointed a judgeship with no legal experience? I guarantee I could do a better job than any of these living constitutionalists.tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-82251934412129488822011-12-12T15:51:17.249-05:002011-12-12T15:51:17.249-05:00Indi: Good. The local court-watchers should have...Indi: Good. The local court-watchers should have the power to keep the judges honest and fair.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-23718351738116343022011-12-12T15:50:18.131-05:002011-12-12T15:50:18.131-05:00Indi: In California we use a similar procedure fo...Indi: In California we use a similar procedure for Supreme Court and appellate positions. Our local judges are up for election every six years. If there's a vacancy, the governor appoints a judge based largely on the recommendation of the local bench and bar of that particular district and the state commission on judicial nominees. But the appointee is subject to the same election rules as all the others at the time of the next gubernatorial election. Regularly-elected lower court judges serve a six-year term. This keeps local judges local, and responsive to the legitimate needs of that community.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-70745634941706601852011-12-12T15:32:45.976-05:002011-12-12T15:32:45.976-05:00LAwhawk
It is ironic because the VRC (Victim'...LAwhawk<br /><br />It is ironic because the VRC (Victim's rights Coalition) was very effective in starting campaigns to have judges pulled from office.<br /><br />In Florida you do not vote for a judge per se you vote on whether or not they should be allowed to stay in office. The VRC was causing problems for certain judges they felt were not fair to the rights of Victims, to the extent that they had to spend money to combat them in election time.<br /><br />This was met with scathing criticism but after the first couple of elections many savvy judges started to respond to the inquiries of the VRC. Of course many lawyers I know are always "concerned" by this and I do understand philospohically the point they are making. It is just that I think it needs to be done in many cases so I support it.Individualisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11005025873042230314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-21805839054004943702011-12-12T15:07:06.510-05:002011-12-12T15:07:06.510-05:00T-Rav: It's hard enough to accept a verdict o...T-Rav: It's hard enough to accept a verdict or appellate decision which pays no heed to justice and debilitates the victims and their families. It just gets worse when the murder fans celebrate their undeserved victory.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-91233181246792112112011-12-12T15:04:13.421-05:002011-12-12T15:04:13.421-05:00Tennessee: I knew what you meant all along, inclu...Tennessee: I knew what you meant all along, including understanding you weren't criticizing the decision. Your description of the process that brought on the reversal is spot-on. It's simply impossible for a decent human being not to be outraged by many of these appellate court decisions, but as you said, that doesn't apply to the case you discussed. Sometimes, and not often enough, the judges clean up their own judicial houses. It was just sad in this case that in order to do justice, justice must necessarily be delayed.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-38059604406477857272011-12-12T14:55:12.083-05:002011-12-12T14:55:12.083-05:00WriterX: I heard that expression many years ago, ...WriterX: I heard that expression many years ago, and over the intervening period I've seen it in action. Liberals are simply incapable of drawing logical inferences from events that don't affect them directly. But once it happens to them, the rules change. Reality replaces dogma pretty quickly.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-18727685479603262142011-12-12T14:53:13.471-05:002011-12-12T14:53:13.471-05:00LawHawk, I really don't know much more about t...LawHawk, I really don't know much more about them than what I've heard on the news (which is of course totally impartial and everything), but I always hate when stuff like this comes up. Suddenly the convicts are the victims; the drama is their fight against injustice, and when they get released, it's suddenly a happy ending for anyone and everyone--except the families of those who were actually killed. They get ignored, or get obliquely painted as a cog in the horrible system that put these dear angels in prison. I cannot put into words how much I hate the way these cretins get celebrated.T-Ravhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10861218035729479354noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-54336040015638487882011-12-12T14:50:23.665-05:002011-12-12T14:50:23.665-05:00tryanmax: I'm convinced that a large proporti...tryanmax: I'm convinced that a large proportion of the Hollywood crowd is so drug-addled and guilt-ridden that they have to support the least sensible "causes."LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-61539037627118756762011-12-12T14:50:03.118-05:002011-12-12T14:50:03.118-05:00Hawk - Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the ...Hawk - Sorry, I didn't mean to imply that the Christian/Newsom case was improperly ordered to be retried. Technically, I don't think it was as a result of the normal appellate process getting it right per se. A special judge was brought in to review all of the evidence against Judge Richard Baumgartner including all his cases during this period. You are absolutely correct, he had no choice but to order a retrial under the circumstances. Better now when the evidence is still fresh.<br /><br />The irony is I happen to be good friends with the defense council (one of the top defense counselors in Knoxville who was assigned by the judge) for Lamericus Davidson, the so called "ring leader" and the only one to be given the death penalty. According to him, this judge bent over backwards to give the defendants a fair trial. There remains mixed accounts of whether the death penalty is back on the table for the others or not in the new trials.<br /><br />What I was ACTUALLY trying to point to (and not doing a very good job of it) was how this case is yet another example of justice delayed for the poor families of the victims. Davidson has shown zero remorse, and makes me yearn for the methods of execution favored in Tudor England. So yes, we can blame the judge in this case, but it is Justice Baumgartner, the original trial judge. And I blame the jurors for saying they were willing and able to apply the death penalty for a conviction. If not for this one, when???Tennessee Jedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10604275115906776992noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-40106216778728613482011-12-12T14:47:19.913-05:002011-12-12T14:47:19.913-05:00Indi: Much the same thing happened in my old home...Indi: Much the same thing happened in my old home jurisdiction of Ventura County in California. But it happened back in the late 50s and early 60s. By the time I started practicing there, a defense attorney knew he had better have sound law on his side because phony sympathy and bad rulings by liberal judges were simply not going to be tolerated. For a very bad period in California jurisprudence in the late 70s and early 80s, our Supreme Court went in the opposite direction. Our lower court judges had to abide by the higher court decisions, but were not hesitant to include in their opinions that they thought the Supreme Court under Jerry "Moonbeam" Brown's Chief Justice Rose Bird was slightly nuts. It culminated with Bird and two other leftist justices being recalled and replaced with strict constitutionalists. Unfortunately, that had little effect on the Ninth Circuit federal bench.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-40222958907055431322011-12-12T14:42:50.009-05:002011-12-12T14:42:50.009-05:00LawHawk, that expression is priceless. I may have ...LawHawk, that expression is priceless. I may have to borrow that. :)Writer Xnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-70662333767400216952011-12-12T14:39:10.174-05:002011-12-12T14:39:10.174-05:00"Four legs good. Two legs be-e-etter!""Four legs good. Two legs be-e-etter!"tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-68356502518384350972011-12-12T14:36:49.824-05:002011-12-12T14:36:49.824-05:00tryanmax: Here is the oath taken by federal judge...tryanmax: Here is the oath taken by federal judges and justices (with emphasis added): “I, XXX XXX, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will administer justice <b>without respect to persons</b>, and do <b>equal right to the poor and to the rich</b>, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge and perform all the duties incumbent upon me as XXX under the Constitution and laws of the United States. So help me God.” Each state has its own version of the oath, but they all contain those highlighted portions. Liberal, "living Constitution" judges simply ignore their oath as if they had never taken it. It became particularly apparent when wise Latina and [then] future Justice Sotomayor announced that she could more fairly judge a case which involved another Latino.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-83783173115591506882011-12-12T14:36:46.077-05:002011-12-12T14:36:46.077-05:00Writer X and LAwhawk
Here in Jacksonville Florida...Writer X and LAwhawk<br /><br />Here in Jacksonville Florida the owner of teh Sonny's BBQ franchise was so fed up with criminals getting off scott free when they robbed his establishments that he started the "Victim's Rights Coalition". <br /><br />I think an employee was hurt or killed and the perpetrator got a light sentence.<br /><br />Essentially his organization has a newspaper they produce locally that details the crimes individuals commit and focuses on the aftermath it has taken its toll on the families. Representatives sometimes with the families show up in court to ensure the judge knows they are there and work with the prosecutor to ensure that the families get an opportunity to speak out at the trial.<br /><br />They rate the judges based upon the sentencing that they deal to perpetrators and make the information public in their newspaper. They avoid the usual liberal assualts by stating they are for Victims Rights and focuising on how unfoar the justice system is to those who are victims of crimes. It has worked very well I think and the approach is good because they state they are a Victim's Rights Advocacy group so if you criticize them you are criticizing the victims of crimes. It also tends to deflate the RAce Card because many of the victims of the crimes that they publicize happen to be minorities as well.Individualisthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11005025873042230314noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-78929651592697697702011-12-12T14:31:23.853-05:002011-12-12T14:31:23.853-05:00I wish this stuff about Hollywood elites' feti...I wish this stuff about Hollywood elites' fetishistic enchantment with the worst, most violent rapists and murderers was more widely known. In certain ways, I don't think that it was all bad that, in a time gone by, a whiff of scandal could taint or ruin a movie career. <br /><br />I really do think that if more people were simply aware of these snobs' predilections, they would find themselves far less bankable. Much as I enjoy Depp's work, with this in the back of my head, I will have a much harder time parting with my hard-earned cash to watch it.tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-70600303798501955452011-12-12T14:28:23.637-05:002011-12-12T14:28:23.637-05:00tryanmax: It's also the reason we're supp...tryanmax: It's also the reason we're supposed to be a nation of laws, not of men. A jury is required to be impartial, and the first questions asked of them at <i>voir dire</i> revolve around whether or not they know the defendants, the police officers, or anyone else involved with the case. That's designed to keep personal feelings from being part of the determination of guilt or innocence. It's also supposed to be true of jurists, but as we have seen in the two cases (plus the one T-Rav mentioned), the judges (particularly the appellate judges) are making decisions based on their own personal beliefs rather than following the law.<br /><br />The process is supposed to be about the impersonal majesty of the law. Instead, it has come to look like a college football game, with crooked referees.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-17090545310857852332011-12-12T14:22:04.221-05:002011-12-12T14:22:04.221-05:00LawHawk, an addition to your education proposal: S...LawHawk, an addition to your education proposal: Somehow we must reinstate a proper sense of what "fair" means in regards to the legal system. And it has nothing to do with evening out whatever discrepancies exist between the perpetrator and the victim. <br /><br />Without trying to sound to conspiratorial, the liberal influences on and in the courts are shaping a justice system that will one day be able to justify wholly the literal destruction of the "1%".tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-7172927001410635012011-12-12T14:21:45.230-05:002011-12-12T14:21:45.230-05:00T-Rav: The West Memphis Three is another horrific...T-Rav: The West Memphis Three is another horrific example. Thanks for bringing it up. For those not familiar with it, in that case, the murder fans include Peter Jackson (<i>Lord of the Rings, King Kong</i>). Jackson is obsessed with the main child murderer, Damien Echols. Echols was the leader of the gang of three that tortured and murdered an innocent child. After joining Echols in making a documentary about Echols's "innocence," Jackson and Echols got matching tattoos. All three of the defendants were released with help from Hollywood (including Depp). The documentary didn't bother to mention that Echols was a subhuman violent offender, starting with his convictions for torturing animals to death and attempting to gouge out the eyes of a man who dated Echols's ex when he was younger. He was institutionalized three times prior to the murder trial for psychotic behavior. <br /><br />Yet rather than argue that Echols was insane, the murder fans argued that he was innocent. Records show that Echols is delusional, believing that he was evolving into a super-being. He was himself abused as a child, has a chronic drug problem, fetishized blood rituals, and was occasionally suicidal. Now isn't that just the perfect hero for a Hollywood film?LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-5854721537206619762011-12-12T14:06:53.272-05:002011-12-12T14:06:53.272-05:00WriterX: There's little the victims' fami...WriterX: There's little the victims' families can do except stay the course. In the case of Faulkner's widow, she just couldn't take it anymore. When I first went into practice, the victims and their families had no voice at all. At least they now allow them to speak at sentencing in most states. But on appeal, their misery is not even considered.<br /><br />As for the idiots who don't consider it might happen to them, they will always be idiots until it does happen to them. Hence the expression, "a liberal is just a conservative who hasn't been mugged yet."LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-15446940415997314702011-12-12T14:04:13.787-05:002011-12-12T14:04:13.787-05:00"one can be in favor of the death penalty wit...<i>"one can be in favor of the death penalty without being sanguine about it."</i><br /><br />That is true of so much that is necessary to keep a society orderly, not just the death penalty. Oddly, the leftist fans of nuance can't seem to grasp it where it legitimately belongs. They seem to believe that supporters of capital punishment--or punishment of any kind--revel in rendering it as much as they revel in enervating it.tryanmaxhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09881154741574720094noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4425587034622601550.post-84419847741834837802011-12-12T14:00:50.746-05:002011-12-12T14:00:50.746-05:00Indi: They asked the previously-executed souls. ...Indi: They asked the previously-executed souls. "On a scale of one to ten, ten being worst, how much did your execution hurt?" LOL I had the same question myself. That was just a silly exercise in imaginative mathematics to justify the desired end result--stop the execution. It was (and is) nonsense indeed.LawHawkRFDhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17800255923675295515noreply@blogger.com