I don't have a lot of experience inside of a courtroom, but since I'm not a lawyer, I'd consider that to be a good thing. I was a witness to what can only be described as a total miscarriage of justice.
Now I was always under the impression that judges were required to be unbiased. That was not the case in Judge Carole Clark's courtroom. The defendants were shut down if they tried to plead their case. When they were allowed to speak, Judge Clark would immediately belittle them.
There was one defendant that was told that if he were to get a job in a week, then he would be released. Skip ahead 1 week and in spite of being incarcerated, this defendant was able to obtain a job. The man's job was verified by a representative of the Adult Probation officer. The defendant was not released, he was sentenced to thirty more days in addition to the three weeks he has already served.
After this defendant finishes his 30 days and is released, he will be released into the AIC (Alternative Incarceration) program. Included in this program is what the judge jokingly refers to as "The Big Budget." What this means is that no matter how many hours he works or how much he makes, he will only be allowed to keep $100 a week. The rest goes to the state.
Granted, his debts will get payed off quite quickly but other aspects of the defendants don't matter in Judge Clark's court. This defendant has a wife and two kids waiting for him to come home.
I have to wonder, is it really in the best interest of the child? What about the other children involved? I know that the "crime" committed need to be payed for but at what cost? It is my opinion, that this judge lacks basic professionalism and is an embarrassment to the bench.
