quote:

Originally posted by jodi:
That bothered me too, pj. Curious what others think.

i think it is common to lay into the defendant during sentencing. I doubt it would be a winning appeal under these circumstances.

How much of the sentencing was mandatory and how much was discretionary?

Charging the judge with bias based only upon her closing words is a bit of a stretch. Absent evidence of biased actions during the trial, I suspect it'll be difficult to overturn a jury verdict. But what about the sentencing?

I don’t know. I’m not a criminal lawyer.

I don’t like that she said death warrant, though.

That suggests she expects he will be murdered in prison, which is a risk pedophiles face. It plays into the unfortunate belief of many that the state has no responsibility for the safety of incarcerated people, when the opposite is true.

Wow. I didn't take that as the implication at all. I thought she was saying the sentence is so long that he'll never leave prison.



eta: I didn't hear this part. After I read it, I could see the point about his being abused by other inmates.

quote:

“I would not send my dogs to you, sir,” the judge told Nassar at one point, before dismissively tossing aside a self-serving letter the defendant had written to the court. She also mused in court that U.S. Constitution did not allow for cruel and unusual punishment. “If it did, I have to say, I might allow what he did to all of these beautiful souls ― these young women in their childhood ― I would allow some or many people to do to him what he did to others.”

https://www.washingtonpost.com...m_term=.b58c55980a08

Is there a case (pun intended) for higher courts to discipline this judge. Her remarks are the opposite of professional judicial behavior.

My understanding:

He didn't have a trial, this was a plea deal.

The sentencing range was 40 years to 170 years (or something like that). And the judge had discretion to have his terms, including the 40 years he is currently serving for child pornography, served concurrently or consecutively. The judge opted for the harshest sentence available.

I know you can appeal a conviction. I think you can't appeal a plea. I don't know if you can appeal a sentence. Perhaps one of our resident lawyers can clarify.

At every turn the judge appeared biased in favor of the victims and against Nassar.

I am in no way uncomfortable with the sentence. I am uncomfortable with the actions and statements of the judge. I hope that her actions do not lead to Nassar getting out of jail. There is still the 40 years for kiddie porn. He's in his 50s, no?

There is a Code of Judicial Conduct, but I don't know whether it frowns upon the sort of comments she made.

As far as bias in favor of the victims, I did not get that impression. The victims got to present victim impact statements, and the perp got to make a statement also. Fair.

That she was repulsed by his admitted crimes is fine. I just think she shouldn't allude to his being murdered or raped in prison, which may or may not violate the Judicial Code.

Rachel Denhollander has an op-ed in the NYT.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/0...nalia&pgtype=article

quote:

Originally posted by Piano*Dad:
I'm guessing that MSU is in for a world of hurt.

Are they ever.

http://www.espn.com/espn/story...rry-nassar-case-espn

Jesus.

What I do not understand....if you were to receive a report like this, could you not imagine your own child in this place? OMG...

I learned a lesson while on a ferry with Bernard and Lilylady...We witnessed abuse of a child and they screamed!! I am sad to say I was struck dumb...but that experience has now given me a voice. Bernard and LilyLady taught me to speak up.

quote:

Originally posted by BeeLady:
What I do not understand....if you were to receive a report like this, could you not imagine your own child in this place? OMG...

I learned a lesson while on a ferry with Bernard and Lilylady...We witnessed abuse of a child and they screamed!! I am sad to say I was struck dumb...but that experience has now given me a voice. Bernard and LilyLady taught me to speak up.

Gasp. I remember that episode (and others I experienced alone... even got the cops involved one time). As I remember correctly, LilyLady really stepped up to the plate on that one. Thank you, LL, from the rest of humanity.

quote:

Originally posted by Bernard:

quote:

Originally posted by BeeLady:
What I do not understand....if you were to receive a report like this, could you not imagine your own child in this place? OMG...

I learned a lesson while on a ferry with Bernard and Lilylady...We witnessed abuse of a child and they screamed!! I am sad to say I was struck dumb...but that experience has now given me a voice. Bernard and LilyLady taught me to speak up.

Gasp. I remember that episode (and others I experienced alone... even got the cops involved one time). As I remember correctly, LilyLady really stepped up to the plate on that one. Thank you, LL, from the rest of humanity.

And I remember the cop we talked to dismissing the issue..."Nothing to see here" sort of thing.

Well, well, well.

The remaining board members resigned once the US Olympic Committee *threatened to decertify.*

"The announcement came one day after the head of the Olympic committee threatened in an email to decertify U.S.A. Gymnastics — the sport’s national governing body — if its entire board of more than 20 people did not resign by next Wednesday. Several board members, including the chairman, Paul Parilla, had already resigned by the time the email was sent."

I'm still quite surprised that anyone would think decertification would not be an appropriate means to clean house if the leaders would not step down voluntarily. It seemed quite obvious to me.

When an organization does the wrong thing to this extent, you don't keep the current leaders. Period.

Now, I hope some of the gymnasts file lawsuits against the organization and its leaders.

Just to make sure the message has been received: You ignore child molestation at your peril.

quote:

Originally posted by BeeLady:

quote:

Originally posted by Bernard:

quote:

Originally posted by BeeLady:
What I do not understand....if you were to receive a report like this, could you not imagine your own child in this place? OMG...

I learned a lesson while on a ferry with Bernard and Lilylady...We witnessed abuse of a child and they screamed!! I am sad to say I was struck dumb...but that experience has now given me a voice. Bernard and LilyLady taught me to speak up.

Gasp. I remember that episode (and others I experienced alone... even got the cops involved one time). As I remember correctly, LilyLady really stepped up to the plate on that one. Thank you, LL, from the rest of humanity.

And I remember the cop we talked to dismissing the issue..."Nothing to see here" sort of thing.

My sense of things is that cops are in a difficult position in these situations. Was a law broken? Which one? The best one can hope for, as far as I can tell, is the cop gets a name and phone and refers the situation to the appropriate agency. But not all cops are so inclined.

Sadly, I have a handful of similar stories over the years living in NY (although the same can be said of living anywhere).