Judge Calls Man in Court for Traffic Violation a ‘Sexual Predator’
By Kevin Dolak | ABC News Blogs – 16 hrs ago.. .
A Florida judge is apologizing after he referred to a man who was in court for a traffic violation as a “sexual predator.”
Judge Carmine Bravo was arraigning 33-year-old Rodrakus Hooks, an ex-convict who has been seen in court before Bravo many times, on charges of driving without a license. Bravo encouraged Hooks to plead guilty to the charge and take a 15-day jail sentence, but he told the judge that he can’t do any time because he has a baby on the way.
“I got a baby mama back there … a baby fixing to be born,” Hooks said, referring to his pregnant 21-year-old fiancée Gwen Brown, who was sitting in the courtroom. When Bravo asked if the couple were married, Hooks said no.
“You ain’t got a baby. You’re just a sexual predator with a younger girl. How old are you?” he asked Brown. “15? 16?”
“I’m going to tell you straight up, man-to-man,” Bravo said to Hooks. “You and I know each other. We’ve been around. If you’re not married to the mother, she’s having a baby. You’re just someone she likes to visit.”
Courtroom video captured the entire exchange, which took place last week in a Seminole County, Florida courtroom.
“He made me feel useless, like I was just a nobody — like I’m having a baby from just anybody or something. It was upsetting and I know everyone in the courtroom was like, ‘Wow,’” Brown told Central Florida ABC News affiliate WFTV.
Though he has never been charged with a sex crime, records show that Hooks has been sentenced over a dozen times with charges including possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, domestic violence, theft and driving without a license.
Since seeing the courtroom incident on camera Judge Bravo, who has been on the bench in Seminole County for 15 years, said he owes Hooks and Brown an apology.
“I’m embarrassed by how it sounds. I just did not come off in a very nice way. I owe them big time in terms of an apology,” the judge said.
Judge Bravo, whose current term ends next year, has offered to let another judge hear Hooks’ case.
Source:click here
The judge was man enough to apologize and that is admirable but this is something that shouldn't have been said in the first place. If the defendant were put behind bars and someone else who is also locked up heard the judge making the "sexual predator" remark might have taken it seriously and told others who will also act on it or if he doesn't like the person hit with this label this will be just the excuse he was looking for. Either way it's bad news for the young man who was the receiptant of the judge's careless remark. Would the judge have called a female defendant "a prostitute"? Would he have looked over to her boyfriend and asked him how much she charges? Hell no,he wouldn't have and the feminists would have gone crazy if he had.
Showing posts with label judicial improperness. Show all posts
Showing posts with label judicial improperness. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 15, 2011
Friday, July 1, 2011
Battle of the Wisconsin jurists
More Details Emerge in Wisconsin’s ‘Chokegate’
June 28, 2011 11:42 A.M. By Christian Schneider
With the Wisconsin Supreme Court devolving into a storyline only Vince McMahon could love, rumors are still swirling about what actually happened when two justices engaged in a physical confrontation behind closed doors on June 13. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley claims Justice David Prosser “choked” her. Prosser denies he choked Bradley, and claims she initiated physical contact. In the past two days, multiple sources with first-hand knowledge of the incident have been able to provide more details as to what exactly happened behind closed chamber doors.
The week before the legislature was set to re-pass the collective-bargaining provision, three of the four conservative justices were ready to issue a ruling reinstating the union law as originally passed. Prosser, on the other hand, wanted to wait longer, to avoid the appearance that the court was rushing their decision through. Prosser thought he had an agreement with liberal Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson to delay release of the opinion until Tuesday of the following week.
As Monday arrived, there was no word from Abrahamson on whether the decision would be issued the next day. At 5:30 p.m., Prosser and the other conservative justices marched around the chambers, looking for Abrahamson, who was found in Justice Bradley’s office. Prosser stood outside Bradley’s door, talking to the justices in Bradley’s office. The discussion got heated, with Prosser expressing his lack of faith in Abrahamson’s ability to lead the Court.
According to one witness, Bradley charged toward Prosser, shaking her clenched fist in his face. Another source says they were “literally nose to nose.” Prosser then put his hands up to push her away. As one source pointed out, if a man wants to push a woman who is facing him, he wouldn’t push her in the chest (unless he wants to face an entirely different criminal charge). Consequently, Prosser put his hands on Bradley’s shoulders to push her away, and in doing so, made contact with her neck.
At that moment, another justice approached Bradley from behind and pulled her away from Prosser, saying, “Stop it, Ann, this isn’t like you.” Bradley then shouted, “I was choked!” Another justice present replied, “You were not choked.” In a statement following the incident, Bradley maintained Prosser “put his hands around my neck in anger in a chokehold.”
On Monday night, Bradley called Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs to talk to him about the incident. On the morning of Wednesday, June 15, Tubbs joined the justices in a closed-door meeting, where he discussed “issues relating to workplace violence.”
During the meeting, Chief Justice Abrahamson actually reenacted the incident on Chief Tubbs — no doubt an amusing sight, as the diminutive Abrahamson mimicked choking the tall, portly police chief. During her demonstration, Abrahamson emphasized that Prosser had exerted “pressure” on Bradley’s throat.
“There was no pressure,” interrupted the justice who had initially broken up the incident between Bradley and Prosser. “That’s only because you broke us apart,” shot back Bradley. This exchange led several meeting attendees to believe Bradley was making up the charge, as they took her rejoinder as an admission that there was no pressure applied to her neck.
During the Wednesday meeting, Bradley urged the justices present to take a vote on whether Prosser should be forced into anger-management counseling. The threat was implicit — if they didn’t vote her way, she would be forced to “take the next step” against Prosser, which they took to mean filing a restraining order against him. The other justices balked, wondering whether they even had the authority to order Prosser into any type of counseling. Some thought it would be “demeaning” to Prosser to have to go to counseling when he had done nothing wrong. In the end, Bradley realized she didn’t have enough justices on her side and no vote was taken.
To date, Bradley has not filed any kind of charges against Prosser. Instead, the story was leaked to the George Soros–funded Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, who used three anonymous sources to back up Bradley’s story. There were six justices present at the time of the incident, four of whom would be more likely to back Prosser’s version of the story. That leaves Abrahamson and Bradley as the only two remaining justices present. One source present speculated the third source may have been Bradley’s law clerk, who likely didn’t actually see the confrontation but may have head Bradley shout “I was choked.”
Speculation is abundant as to why Bradley decided to forgo a criminal complaint against Prosser, deciding instead to go to the press ten days after the event. Some say Bradley’s complaint wouldn’t have stood up if given the scrutiny of a criminal investigation. Furthermore, others speculate that if any formal criminal proceedings had moved forward (a restraining-order filing, for instance), Prosser would be afforded evidentiary hearings, testimony, and discovery.
Furthermore, sources unanimously believed that it was Shirley Abrahamson who has been the impetus behind the story, managing the press operation from behind the scenes. Justices had been working together regularly since the incident without any signs of rancor until Abrahamson decided to make this an issue, sources believe.
While Bradley has not filed any charges against Prosser, an investigation was initiated by the Capitol Police, who then quickly turned the case over to the Dane County Sheriff, David Mahoney — who once actually appeared in a campaign ad supporting the reelection of Chief Justice Abrahamson. The ad also included not-yet-famous circuit-court judge Maryann Sumi, whose ruling the Supreme Court had to vacate in order to allow Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining bill to stand.
Source:click here
June 28, 2011 11:42 A.M. By Christian Schneider
With the Wisconsin Supreme Court devolving into a storyline only Vince McMahon could love, rumors are still swirling about what actually happened when two justices engaged in a physical confrontation behind closed doors on June 13. Justice Ann Walsh Bradley claims Justice David Prosser “choked” her. Prosser denies he choked Bradley, and claims she initiated physical contact. In the past two days, multiple sources with first-hand knowledge of the incident have been able to provide more details as to what exactly happened behind closed chamber doors.
The week before the legislature was set to re-pass the collective-bargaining provision, three of the four conservative justices were ready to issue a ruling reinstating the union law as originally passed. Prosser, on the other hand, wanted to wait longer, to avoid the appearance that the court was rushing their decision through. Prosser thought he had an agreement with liberal Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson to delay release of the opinion until Tuesday of the following week.
As Monday arrived, there was no word from Abrahamson on whether the decision would be issued the next day. At 5:30 p.m., Prosser and the other conservative justices marched around the chambers, looking for Abrahamson, who was found in Justice Bradley’s office. Prosser stood outside Bradley’s door, talking to the justices in Bradley’s office. The discussion got heated, with Prosser expressing his lack of faith in Abrahamson’s ability to lead the Court.
According to one witness, Bradley charged toward Prosser, shaking her clenched fist in his face. Another source says they were “literally nose to nose.” Prosser then put his hands up to push her away. As one source pointed out, if a man wants to push a woman who is facing him, he wouldn’t push her in the chest (unless he wants to face an entirely different criminal charge). Consequently, Prosser put his hands on Bradley’s shoulders to push her away, and in doing so, made contact with her neck.
At that moment, another justice approached Bradley from behind and pulled her away from Prosser, saying, “Stop it, Ann, this isn’t like you.” Bradley then shouted, “I was choked!” Another justice present replied, “You were not choked.” In a statement following the incident, Bradley maintained Prosser “put his hands around my neck in anger in a chokehold.”
On Monday night, Bradley called Capitol Police Chief Charles Tubbs to talk to him about the incident. On the morning of Wednesday, June 15, Tubbs joined the justices in a closed-door meeting, where he discussed “issues relating to workplace violence.”
During the meeting, Chief Justice Abrahamson actually reenacted the incident on Chief Tubbs — no doubt an amusing sight, as the diminutive Abrahamson mimicked choking the tall, portly police chief. During her demonstration, Abrahamson emphasized that Prosser had exerted “pressure” on Bradley’s throat.
“There was no pressure,” interrupted the justice who had initially broken up the incident between Bradley and Prosser. “That’s only because you broke us apart,” shot back Bradley. This exchange led several meeting attendees to believe Bradley was making up the charge, as they took her rejoinder as an admission that there was no pressure applied to her neck.
During the Wednesday meeting, Bradley urged the justices present to take a vote on whether Prosser should be forced into anger-management counseling. The threat was implicit — if they didn’t vote her way, she would be forced to “take the next step” against Prosser, which they took to mean filing a restraining order against him. The other justices balked, wondering whether they even had the authority to order Prosser into any type of counseling. Some thought it would be “demeaning” to Prosser to have to go to counseling when he had done nothing wrong. In the end, Bradley realized she didn’t have enough justices on her side and no vote was taken.
To date, Bradley has not filed any kind of charges against Prosser. Instead, the story was leaked to the George Soros–funded Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, who used three anonymous sources to back up Bradley’s story. There were six justices present at the time of the incident, four of whom would be more likely to back Prosser’s version of the story. That leaves Abrahamson and Bradley as the only two remaining justices present. One source present speculated the third source may have been Bradley’s law clerk, who likely didn’t actually see the confrontation but may have head Bradley shout “I was choked.”
Speculation is abundant as to why Bradley decided to forgo a criminal complaint against Prosser, deciding instead to go to the press ten days after the event. Some say Bradley’s complaint wouldn’t have stood up if given the scrutiny of a criminal investigation. Furthermore, others speculate that if any formal criminal proceedings had moved forward (a restraining-order filing, for instance), Prosser would be afforded evidentiary hearings, testimony, and discovery.
Furthermore, sources unanimously believed that it was Shirley Abrahamson who has been the impetus behind the story, managing the press operation from behind the scenes. Justices had been working together regularly since the incident without any signs of rancor until Abrahamson decided to make this an issue, sources believe.
While Bradley has not filed any charges against Prosser, an investigation was initiated by the Capitol Police, who then quickly turned the case over to the Dane County Sheriff, David Mahoney — who once actually appeared in a campaign ad supporting the reelection of Chief Justice Abrahamson. The ad also included not-yet-famous circuit-court judge Maryann Sumi, whose ruling the Supreme Court had to vacate in order to allow Scott Walker’s collective-bargaining bill to stand.
Source:click here
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
Judge gone wild
'Girls Gone Wild' Founder Accuses Judge
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis accused a federal judge Tuesday of targeting him for retribution, saying he is behind a new lawsuit that accuses Francis of filming underage girls in sexually provocative acts.
Francis said U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak and Smoak's former law partner, Ross McCloy,are targeting him because his company met with a consulting firm about taking steps to impeach Smoak and have him removed from office.
McCloy is representing the four women who sued Francis last week. They allege they were 17,16, 15 and 13 when his company solicited them to participate in sexually provocative videos in 2003 and earlier. They want unspecified monetary damages.
Smoak presided over an earlier, similar lawsuit against Francis that McCloy also filed.
Francis said the judge should have removed himself because of his relationship with McCloy. The lawsuit was later settled after Smoak jailed Francis for making threats during a deposition.
"We asked three times for the judge to recuse himself in front of his ex-law partner and he refused," Francis told The Associated Press. "This is America and we are not going to let that happen again. We are not going to let them put me in jail for a civil suit."
He called the latest lawsuit "Shakedown Part 2."
McCloy had no comment about Francis' allegations. Smoak did not immediately return a phone call placed to his office. "Girls Gone Wild" is a series of videos showing young women exposing themselves, often at events like Mardi Gras and spring break. Francis has sold millions.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
Tuesday, March 25, 2008
PANAMA CITY, Fla. - "Girls Gone Wild" founder Joe Francis accused a federal judge Tuesday of targeting him for retribution, saying he is behind a new lawsuit that accuses Francis of filming underage girls in sexually provocative acts.
Francis said U.S. District Judge Richard Smoak and Smoak's former law partner, Ross McCloy,are targeting him because his company met with a consulting firm about taking steps to impeach Smoak and have him removed from office.
McCloy is representing the four women who sued Francis last week. They allege they were 17,16, 15 and 13 when his company solicited them to participate in sexually provocative videos in 2003 and earlier. They want unspecified monetary damages.
Smoak presided over an earlier, similar lawsuit against Francis that McCloy also filed.
Francis said the judge should have removed himself because of his relationship with McCloy. The lawsuit was later settled after Smoak jailed Francis for making threats during a deposition.
"We asked three times for the judge to recuse himself in front of his ex-law partner and he refused," Francis told The Associated Press. "This is America and we are not going to let that happen again. We are not going to let them put me in jail for a civil suit."
He called the latest lawsuit "Shakedown Part 2."
McCloy had no comment about Francis' allegations. Smoak did not immediately return a phone call placed to his office. "Girls Gone Wild" is a series of videos showing young women exposing themselves, often at events like Mardi Gras and spring break. Francis has sold millions.
Copyright 2007 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be
published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed
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