Posted by wlansden |
Filed under good idea - bad idea
Good Idea: Judicial candor.
Bad Idea: Judging someone's sexuality…from the bench.
A Wisconsin judge's comments yesterday in open court might be a good example of too much candor from the bench. In a sexual assault case, Waupaca County Judge Phillip Kirk seemed to focus on the defendant's sexuality, and questioned his assertion that he was heterosexual. The judge commented that:
- “I think that if anyone believes that in the last 10 years or 15 years all of a sudden you
developed an interest in homosexuality ... then I must have looked ravishing in my
prom dress this year.”
- ". . . [your heterosexual life] was all a lie."
Unsurprisingly, the remarks by the judge are stirring controversy. Some believe the comments were intended to express the judge's understanding for the challenges faced by the defendant who may have been struggling with his sexuality throughout life, but certainly such a sentiment could have been communicated in a less inflammatory way, to say the least.
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