Judges Gone Wild

[+ quoththeraven]

This is just wow:

 

Back in May, three Indiana judges got into a fight. It was the crescendo of an incident brimming with colorful details: a gaggle of judges drinking the night before a judicial conference, a failed attempt to visit a strip club called the Red Garter, a brawl in the parking lot of an Indianapolis White Castle.

 

The altercation apparently started sometime after 3 a.m., when one of the judges, Sabrina Bell, raised a middle finger at two men yelling from a passing SUV, and ended after one of those men shot two of the judges.

 

In between, the three judges took a number of actions that "discredited the entire Indiana judiciary," according to an opinion posted by the Indiana Supreme Court this week, suspending the judges.

 

The court found that the three — Andrew Adams, Bradley Jacobs and Sabrina Bell — had "engaged in judicial misconduct by appearing in public in an intoxicated state and behaving in an injudicious manner and by becoming involved in a verbal altercation." Adams and Jacobs engaged in further judicial misconduct "by becoming involved in a physical altercation for which Judge Adams was criminally charged and convicted."

 

More details here:

 

https://www.npr.org/2019/11/14/779339897/3-indiana-judges-suspended-after-white-castle-brawl-that-left-2-of-them-wounded?utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&utm_term=nprnews

[marylander1940]

[+ quoththeraven]

"Truth is stranger than fiction."

[+ Charlie]

Although they may sound like minor offenses, these actually count as "high crimes and misdemeanors," because they were committed by judges.

[+ Keith30309]

Were these elected or appointed officials ?

[+ E.T.Bass]

They went to White Castle.

Nuff said!

[marylander1940]

@BnaC Don't get offended for @quoththeraven attacking the honor of the great State of Indiana like you said I did once...

 

Back to subject: can they be recalled or can they just go to church and pray it out?

[KrisParr]

Were these elected or appointed officials ?

County judges in Indiana are elected generally to 6-year terms; magistrates are appointed by those judges to serve at their pleasure and can be fired/removed at any time. Interesting that the female judge has yet to release any sort of public statement of apology. She did not submit to a BAC test, yet admits she was so intoxicated that she cannot remember most of the event. And they all get to keep their jobs and make sure that anyone found with a bit of weed in their possession will get sent to the slammer. Mike Pence’s home state - gotta love those Hoosiers.

[Walker1]

The judges had a brawl in the parking lot of a White Castle and attempted to visit a strip club?? This is bizarre!!

[+ quoththeraven]

Although they may sound like minor offenses, these actually count as "high crimes and misdemeanors," because they were committed by judges.

Not necessarily. Also they're not subject to the federal constitution. I don't know if Indiana provides for impeaching judges.

[+ quoththeraven]

The judges had a brawl in the parking lot of a White Castle and attempted to visit a strip club?? This is bizarre!!

That's why I posted it! The attempt to visit a strip club preceded their visit to White Castle. It's not clear, but it's implied they went there with the fourth judge who went inside and wasn't part of their shenanigans.

[KrisParr]

The strip club, “The Red Garter” closed at 3:00 a.m. - they arrived shortly thereafter. And all county judges in Indiana make $150K per year - it’s public information. Nice work, eh?

[+ Charlie]

Not necessarily. Also they're not subject to the federal constitution. I don't know if Indiana provides for impeaching judges.

I wasn't suggesting that they were subject to federal impeachment, only that the traditional definition of a "high crime or misdemeanor" in English common law is one committed by someone in a high position, such as a judge, who, after all, has the power to punish other persons accused of that particular act.

[Walker1]

The strip club, “The Red Garter” closed at 3:00 a.m. - they arrived shortly thereafter. And all county judges in Indiana make $150K per year - it’s public information. Nice work, eh?

150k a year with pensions too. Paid for by taxpayers.

[+ quoththeraven]

Why would I get offended, it’s probably just a humorous example of what happens when elected republicans and democrats party together after midnight.

What makes you think this is a mixed group politically?

[KrisParr]

Judge Adams and Magistrate Dawkins are donkeys and Judges Bell and Jacobs are pachyderms. Rare, indeed.

[+ sync]

Apparently, they have the abilities to pass the state bar, but not city bars.

[+ quoththeraven]

Public information...

I wasn't interested enough to go looking for it. Didn't realize you had that much initiative.

 

Isn't Judge Bell violating some kind of Republican femininity code by randomly flipping the bird at cars passing by while shitfaced and seeking to enter a strip club? Although if the interest in a strip club portends a potential threesome or foursome between the judges that was derailed by the shenanigans, I commend her for that.

[+ quoththeraven]

As the OP, you should have taken the initiative of verifying what you post. I’m fact, while other sober accounts of the incident existed, you chose the sensationalized version describing the participants as a “gaggle of judges”

 

You know, this was a serious incident. One man was shot in the stomach requiring two surgeries and colon resectioning. The other was shot twice in the chest and was hospitalized for two weeks after two surgeries.

 

And now, you’re trying to make it about some nonexistent “republican femininity code” and threesomes/foursomes. Frankly, I thought you were better than that.

Huh? I thought this was amusing and strange. Nothing more than that.

 

Seeing as the source is primarily the decision of the judicial system about what happened, I don't get your criticism of that as sensationalized. It didn't occur to me that the judges' political affiliations mattered. Also, I read the entire article. I know that the injuries were serious. I also know that Bell was taped saying it was all her fault for flipping off the passing car to begin with. Now she claims to have no memory of that, but it does seem as though her actions started it off.

 

Irrespective, it was a lack of judgment and doesn't look good for any of them. The judge who was seriously injured paid the highest price, but he also was the one who pled guilty to assault. And it's not as though stopping to beat the shit out of them was a particularly wise act on the part of the passersby.

 

As for you thinking less of me, go right ahead. I don't particularly care what you think of me. Yes, it was a serious situation, but there's also an element of absurdity to their drunken antics. If you think less of me for making fun of that, <shrug>

[+ FreshFluff]

This story makes no sense. Did the guys in the passing car know the judges? What did they shout at Bell? Assuming they shouted something offensive, why did Vasquez insult Bell after Bell flipped off the guys in the car?

[+ quoththeraven]

This story makes no sense. Did the guys in the passing car know the judges? What did they shout at Bell? Assuming they shouted something offensive, why did Vasquez insult Bell after Bell flipped off the guys in the car?

It makes sense to me. Some people find being given the bird insulting. There might also be racial or class differences between the judges and the people who stopped. People driving around at 3 am are more likely to be drunk or looking for a fight themselves.

 

I agree that the decision only touches the surface, but that may be due to caution and an inability to establish more because of the participants' intoxication. These decisions only recite established and undisputed facts.

[+ quoththeraven]

I never said I thought less of you...I said I expected more of you.

In this case, You were quick to post with no regard for verification or insight into the bigger story.

Why does anyone here posting need to go into the bigger story? Moreover, I disagree with you that there is one. You think it matters that they are from different parties, while I don't. What I think is interesting, and somewhat odd, is that a mixed group (gender, not partywise) tried to get into a strip club. A plausible reason for that is as a prelude to sexual activity. You were offended by that suggestion.

 

What I get out of this is that I didn't approach this the way you would. You are cordially invited to post your own thread, then. If you want to add information and context to this one, do so, but realize that snarking about my deficiencies when you do that reflects on you, not me, and doesn't make the perceived necessity for the additional information more persuasive to others.

[+ quoththeraven]

More judges gone wild:

 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/12/11/kentucky-judge-faces-possible-impeachment-misconduct-charges-sex-drinking-guitars-retaliation/

 

It's not entirely clear to me whether the commission considers these established facts or whether they are allegations subject to additional fact-finding and hearings, but even so the judge forcing a subordinate out so she could hire a friend and bandmate doesn't look good (and appears unethical) without regard to whether they had/have a sexual relationship or whether he is qualified. The allegations regarding pressuring lawyers and staff to help her campaign and retaliating against lawyers who were deemed insufficiently supportive are also of great concern. It's so rare for anyone to be willing to make these sorts of allegations that it seems unlikely they're all some vendetta against her.