Wise words from St. Joseph Superior Court Chief Judge Michael Scopelitis, as quoted in this South Bend Tribune story questioning whether the legal system is tough enough, after a drunk driver with multiple DUIs on his record recently caused the deaths of a local police officer and his K-9.
Via Jonathan Turley, a woman and her cousin were convicted of the murder-for-hire of the woman’s husband. The families of all those involved in the case belong to a small community of Bukharian Jews in Queens. At sentencing, the cousin, Mr. Mallayev, asserted his innocence: “I didn’t kill nobody in my life…. I live by the Ten Commandments. You both laugh on that…. I feel comfortable with myself. I’m good in front of myself and in front of God.”
If Mr. Mallayev thought his religion had been disrespected by the judge and the prosecutor before, there’s no telling what he thought after Judge Hanophy in response quoted Jesus Christ and compared Mr. Mallayev to Judas Iscariot: “Mr. Mallayev, you took the 20,000 pieces of silver to murder Dr. Malakov…. You say you’re a religious man. There’s (more…)
Douglas Berman at Sentencing Law and Policy asks “Should law enforcement service be an aggravator or mitigator at sentencing?”. He asks the question in connection with the upcoming sentencing of ex-Sheriff Mike Carona for urging his ex-assistant sheriff to lie during a grand jury investigation of charges that Carona took gifts in exchange for favors while in office.
Law enforcement service per se sure as shootin’ should not be a mitigator. Carona’s defense attorneys are asking the judge “to look beyond Carona’s conviction and see the public servant with 32 years behind the badge – years spent advancing the cause of children and homeland security.” Big freaking deal. Carona got paid well by the taxpayers for (more…)
