Regular readers of this blog know that I am in the middle of a legal challenge to Judge William Young's practice in Traffic Court of maxing out fines to punish people who ask for a trial on their traffic ticket and lose, which is virtually everyone as Judge Young sides with "his" police officers "99.9%" of the time.
People will be surprised that I have nothing personally against Judge Young. You seem him outside the court, he's an extremely personable, gracious person. Judge Young though has an extremely bizarre and offensive way of approaching the law and treating litigants who come before his court. That whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing goes out the window when motorists come to the Marion County Traffic Court. Police officers also are automatically given more credibility than the average citizen, because police officers are, well, police officers. That's a big no-no for a judge. Another Marion County Superior Court judge who had done criminal law told me police officers are some of the biggest liars that step foot in the courtroom and that people should not reflexively believe what they say because they are police officers.
Apparently Judge Young does not practice what he preaches. According to the Indianapolis Times, he went before the Marion County Election Board to face up to a $1000 fine for failing to file his campaign finance report. Judge Young said he didn't realize he had to file one and asked the Marion County Election Board for a "do-over." Inexplicably, the Board unanimously granted the request and didn't impose any fine. Not even a token fine? What kind of signal does that send to other candidates about filing their reports? I'm pretty sure the Election Board imposes token $50 fines on people who file a few minutes late. So I guess the lesson is that if your report is going to be late, simply don't file one and the fine will be forgiven, at least if you're a sitting judge.
People will be surprised that I have nothing personally against Judge Young. You seem him outside the court, he's an extremely personable, gracious person. Judge Young though has an extremely bizarre and offensive way of approaching the law and treating litigants who come before his court. That whole "innocent until proven guilty" thing goes out the window when motorists come to the Marion County Traffic Court. Police officers also are automatically given more credibility than the average citizen, because police officers are, well, police officers. That's a big no-no for a judge. Another Marion County Superior Court judge who had done criminal law told me police officers are some of the biggest liars that step foot in the courtroom and that people should not reflexively believe what they say because they are police officers.
Apparently Judge Young does not practice what he preaches. According to the Indianapolis Times, he went before the Marion County Election Board to face up to a $1000 fine for failing to file his campaign finance report. Judge Young said he didn't realize he had to file one and asked the Marion County Election Board for a "do-over." Inexplicably, the Board unanimously granted the request and didn't impose any fine. Not even a token fine? What kind of signal does that send to other candidates about filing their reports? I'm pretty sure the Election Board imposes token $50 fines on people who file a few minutes late. So I guess the lesson is that if your report is going to be late, simply don't file one and the fine will be forgiven, at least if you're a sitting judge.
Update on now Senate Enrolled Act 399: That bill, which is aimed squarely at Judge Young's practices and caps the discretion trial judges have to hand out fines for moving violations, is on the Governor's desk for signature. It's amazing how both sides of the aisle, Republican and Democrat, Liberal and Conservative, were united in their outrage over what is going on in the Marion County Traffic Court and wanted to put a stop to it.
2 comments:
Maybe the good Judge will accept some 'do overs' for those who appear before him -- now that the shoe is on the other foot.
>>I'm pretty sure the Election Board imposes token $50 fines on people who file a few minutes late.
Having just watched part of the latest board meeting on the web, I'd have to say your guess is a mile off, they waived all fines in the few minutes I watched.
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