Judge on wife case is member of family!

[Just Blue]

Sorry, I can't take rereading that first post to see whatever new think needs to be decoded.

What is the name of your state (only U.S. law)? Arkansas

My wife is going through a criminal charge and the presiding judge happens to be not only my father's golfing friend as well they are brother-in-laws married to sisters!

In the beginning of it all we thought this is gonna be a great thing for the home team but he has really screwed us in whole ordeal. Because of their buddy-buddy relationship he (the judge) knows a ton more about us, more than average joe would. The judge even told us that him sitting on this case was kinda gonna be a hairy situation for him, but he was gonna take it on anyway.

A week before they offered her a plea, we were told to call judge. He was discussed with us that he recommended to d.a that she take smarter sentencing program even though restitution was too high to really even be considered for program, but he stated if she completed everything in program other than restitution he would wipe amount away! She completed all required tasks off program, and at time to go for what we thought was a final court appearance wound up with not only restitution amount but drug court program. I myself don't know how any fair decision could be made at all due to the knowledge he has from his golf course outings - I'm sure my dad told judge about his problematic son and daughter-in-law.

I just don't think it has been handled as an unbiased court case. My wife is now sitting in a cell because she had her first infraction - most get community service for their firsts.

My comments:
* Use paragraphs.
* Update by creating new posts in the thread, stop editing the initial post.
* Not every sentence has to end in an exclamation point.
* The word is "presides" not "resides". He doesn't live (reside) in the case. At least, I hope he doesn't. Also, "Evan" is a proper name, and does not mean "even", and "because" has an "a" in it, but no "o".

By your own admission, you and your wife are not living up to your father's expectations. This is not because you took up the career of basket weaving rather than investment banker. No, it is because you are doing things that can (and have) gotten you in trouble with the law, and have brought shame upon him, in his opinion.

I have observed that you do not refer to the judge as your uncle, so would it be fair to assume that the sister your father married is your stepmother, not your mother? While I realize that could be adding to the dynamic, and your emotions regarding the judge, you really need to grow up.

Rather than focusing the blame outwards, which will waste a lot of your time and energy, turn your focus inward. Face what is. You haven't claimed that you wife was treated unfairly because she's innocent - you've claimed she should be treated more generously because it's the first time she got caught. You know, your Dad knows, and the judge knows that it's just the first time she's been charged, not the first time that she's committed such a crime. If you and your wife focused your energy on becoming better humans, you would be much happier. Stop blaming other people for your shortcomings.

I really like this post by ohsocleverred...

 

[quincy]

It's a good post. I agree.

 

[PayrollHRGuy]

One bit of trivia. We don't have "D.A.s" in Arkansas. We have Circuit Prosecuting Attorneys and Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys

 

[quincy]

One bit of trivia. We don't have "D.A.s" in Arkansas. We have Circuit Prosecuting Attorneys and Deputy Prosecuting Attorneys

Good to know.

 

[Ohiogal]

Yes. Editing in the state name would have helped.

Given that the judge is Todd's uncle, though, the relationship between Todd's uncle and Todd's wife is distant enough that there would not likely be a conflict of interest based on that alone.

I agree with those who say that the judge's decision seems to have benefited the wife, so Todd's concern is a curious one - unless someone else is challenging the decision by the judge.

I disagree. A smart judge would have recused themselves for this.

 

[quincy]

I disagree. A smart judge would have recused themselves for this.

The original post has been edited by Todd a few times now, adding information that was not present at first. Earlier responses reflect the facts as given at that time.

 

[Ohiogal]

The original post has been edited by Todd a few times now, adding information that was not present at first. Earlier responses reflect the facts as given at that time.

I went away and have been gone most of the month. BAD me came back interimittently the last few days. And I cannot spell intermittent. DANG it.

 

[quincy]

I went away and have been gone most of the month. BAD me came back interimittently the last few days. And I cannot spell intermittent. DANG it.

It is good to have you back.

This is a thread that needed to be read from its inception to understand it. The continued late edits to the original post are reflected in the changing answers.

 

[not2cleverRed]

I went away and have been gone most of the month. BAD me came back interimittently the last few days. And I cannot spell intermittent. DANG it.

We've missed you. <3

Yes, the judge should have recused himself. However, I suspect that the judge tried to give this woebegone couple as much of a break as possible. (The initial post indicated that another judge wanted to hold the wife on $50K bail, but this family-friend judge had the bail waived.)

I suspect that if OP pushes things, it'll turn out that indeed, the judge was too lenient. Which of course is unfair to those without such an advantage.

 

[quincy]

We've missed you. <3

Yes, the judge should have recused himself. However, I suspect that the judge tried to give this woebegone couple as much of a break as possible. (The initial post indicated that another judge wanted to hold the wife on $50K bail, but this family-friend judge had the bail waived.)

I suspect that if OP pushes things, it'll turn out that indeed, the judge was too lenient. Which of course is unfair to those with such an advantage.

My feeling is that the judge turned out to be not as lenient as Todd had hoped, bound probably by the sentencing guidelines.

 

[not2cleverRed]

My feeling is that the judge turned out to be not as lenient as Todd had hoped, bound probably by the sentencing guidelines.

Yes, well, Todd was probably under the impression that his wife was going to just get off with a warning.

At this point, the judge should recuse himself - no good deed goes unpunished - and let the chips fall where they may. Better to lose a golfing buddy than your good name. If Todd and his drug addict wife don't want to get clean, they can keep on keeping on. Just hope the kids are taken away if they're being neglected.

 

[quincy]

I still don't have a clear picture of what is going on with the wife's criminal charge and the judge's order.

I think Todd's wife needs to rely on her attorney because I am not convinced Todd knows facts enough to be able to assist his wife in gathering information.