5 ms·

Wow this is really amazing. The amount of effort here and critical thought is eye-opening and obviously compelling. Why is this an outlier trait? What makes the

Wow this is really amazing. The amount of effort here and critical thought is eye-opening and obviously compelling. Why is this an outlier trait? What makes these qualities hard to attain for the rest? Applying this methodology requires mostly... critical thinking? Care? What’s missing from the rest of judges and in many ways I’m sure can be applied to other fields of expertise.

mirimir 7y ago
Well there is the issue of "cruel and unusual" punishments being unconstitutional. But his seem too whimsical for that. I mean, the "pepper spray" was actually water.
- vezycash 7y ago
  His success is in giving the accused a CHOICE. Here's jail, and here's something else with less jail time or non - Choose. Parents already do that to their kids, some schools to students. His innovation is in applying it to Law. Without choice, his method would be considered abuse of power.
- daxorid 7y ago
  There is nothing more cruel than taking away the one resource a person cannot ever recover: time. Creative, or even corporal (e.g. 20 lashes), punishments are A. more effective, and B. less cruel, than prison time.
- pdpi 7y ago
  A crucial point here is that his punishments are unusual but not cruel.
- Yajirobe 7y ago
  These kind of 'sentences' are one step away from making this judge a star of a reality TV show. Punishments that deviate from the norm are not inherently bad, but there needs to be a line between actual sentences and what seem like a Monty Python sketch. Now, these offenses seem to be of mild nature, but who is to say that a world where equally ludicrous punishments for serious offenses is impossible?
gnode 7y ago
Although these punishments do not meet the high bar of "cruel and unusual punishment" as defined in the Furman v. Georgia decision, there is still the issue that judges are generally expected to act in an orthodox way. For punishment to be an effective and fair deterrent, it must be predictable. In much the same way as judges in common law courts follow precedent in interpreting law, they follow sentencing trends in determining sentences. Additionally, their decisions are subject to the judgement of higher courts (appellate courts; Supreme Court).

mirimir 7y ago

Well there is the issue of "cruel and unusual" punishments being unconstitutional. But his seem too whimsical for that. I mean, the "pepper spray" was actually water.

vezycash 7y ago
His success is in giving the accused a CHOICE. Here's jail, and here's something else with less jail time or non - Choose. Parents already do that to their kids, some schools to students. His innovation is in applying it to Law. Without choice, his method would be considered abuse of power.
daxorid 7y ago
There is nothing more cruel than taking away the one resource a person cannot ever recover: time. Creative, or even corporal (e.g. 20 lashes), punishments are A. more effective, and B. less cruel, than prison time.
pdpi 7y ago
A crucial point here is that his punishments are unusual but not cruel.
Yajirobe 7y ago
These kind of 'sentences' are one step away from making this judge a star of a reality TV show. Punishments that deviate from the norm are not inherently bad, but there needs to be a line between actual sentences and what seem like a Monty Python sketch. Now, these offenses seem to be of mild nature, but who is to say that a world where equally ludicrous punishments for serious offenses is impossible?

gnode 7y ago

Although these punishments do not meet the high bar of "cruel and unusual punishment" as defined in the Furman v. Georgia decision, there is still the issue that judges are generally expected to act in an orthodox way. For punishment to be an effective and fair deterrent, it must be predictable. In much the same way as judges in common law courts follow precedent in interpreting law, they follow sentencing trends in determining sentences. Additionally, their decisions are subject to the judgement of higher courts (appellate courts; Supreme Court).