Last night I had to appear in Municipal Court. Municipal courts are really different from one another. Some are held in little buildings that used to be houses in the community. Others are held in large edifices much too grand for what they really house.
Municipal judges vary, too. Some take their job seriously. Some just show up for the paycheck.
Last night I was in front of the municipal judge who I have known for many years. He is a little younger than I. It was curious to look at him last night and notice that his age was beginning to show. It made me stop and think about my own age.
This particular judge takes his job very seriously. He demonstrates the appropriate decorum for the public. At the same time, he knows how to treat lawyers that appear before him. Although his court use one of the busiest in the area, it is one of the best run.
However, last night, this judge did one of those things that I disagree with. I don’t think it is wrong. I just think it is wasted.
My client was a young lady, 18 years old, who had a DWI. She had been at a party with her friends, had a few beers, and decided she needed to go to Taco Bell. So she drove down the street to the nearest Taco Bell, was weaviing while she drove, and got stopped. The officer gave her the standard field sobriety tests and she failed. She took a breath test and blew well over the legal limit.She also had a little marijuana in her car and the officer cited her for possession of marijuana in Municipal Court.
After a little negotiation the prosecutor agreed to recommend a suspended imposition of sentence, probation, SATOP and the ever present Victim Impact Panel. The marijuana possession was amended to littering (the favorite of all municipal prosecutors) and she paid a fine on that.
Even before my client came forward the judge noticed that she was only 18 years old. He asked me if her parents were with her. Just by chance this young lady was there with her mother. Why an 18-year-old would be expected to bring her parents is beyond me. An 18-year-old is an adult. But this seemed to get the ball rolling for my friend, the judge.
The next thing I knew he had the defendant and her mother up at the bench. He launched into a long diatribe about the evils of drinking and driving. He went on and on about how he was putting it this girl on probation and how he doubted she was going to successfully complete the probation. He told her about how he would put her in jail for 30 days if she violated the probation.
I mean all that is fair. Probation is a gift. The judge doesn’t have to put her on probation. And, sure, if she violates probation she is a fool. But I don’t think that a person that age standing there with her mother, in front of that Judge, or any judge, heard anything he had to say.
Clearly she was scared. Clearly she heard the words. She was trembling so badly that I am sure she forgot everything he said within minutes after walking away.
There are a couple of judges who feel the need to give long lectures to young people who stand before them at sentencing. I think these judges forget what it was like to be young. First of all I think most of these young people look at judges as old, irrelevant people who really don’t know what life is like today. In a lot of respects they are right. But the judges feel they are imparting great words of wisdom. They aren’t.
Oh, by the way, I didn’t mention to the judge, and he didn’t ask, but my client is already on probation for possession of marijuana in another county. The judge who put her on probation for the possession of marijuana gave her a similar speech. I don’t think she heard him, either.
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