“Court Case Friday” I presided over an interesting case of domestic violence. A military officer was desperate to have a “spiritual experience.” Instead of consulting a religious leader, he searched the internet. “A little knowledge is a dangerous thing.” He discovered that some people professed to have had spiritual experiences by taking hallucinogenic drugs like … Continue reading Case of the Drug-Induced “Spiritual” Experience
"Court Case Friday" One of my specialties is domestic violence cases. I handle domestic violence cases every day. The vast majority of the defendants are men. One morning I had a woman domestic violence prisoner in my “cage.” She was an elderly, spry, wiry, and very loud 75-year-old. The courtroom was full. I explained, “I … Continue reading The Loud Mouth 75-Year Old Female Domestic Violence Prisoner
"Court Case Friday" A girlfriend and boyfriend loved each other and lived together for years. They were both heavy drinkers. One night, in a nearby county, they both got drunk and ended up in a fight. A witness called the police. Since the boyfriend “won” the fight, the police deemed him to be the “primary … Continue reading “He Chose Alcohol Over Love, Booze Over His Beloved”
(Caution: Violent Content) I presided over a preliminary hearing in a bizarre and tragic domestic violence case. The "couch potato" husband schlepped home after work, just in time to watch the start of the baseball game with his favorite team. He grabbed a couple of six packs of cold beer from the fridge. He eased … Continue reading Case of the “Lazy” Husband Murdering His “Nagging” Wife
Background and Observations on Domestic Violence (DV) Cases The Paradigm Shift From Laxness to No Tolerance One of my judicial specialties is domestic violence cases. Every day, I deal with 5-10 DV cases. In the last 40 years there has been huge paradigm shift in how DV cases are prosecuted. When I was a Deputy … Continue reading Domestic Violence, and the Case of the Wife Who Super-Glued Her Husband’s “Member” to His Abdomen
I am continually amazed at how often people make bad situations worse. We see this very often when people flee the scene of an accident, evade a police officer, or fail to show up for their traffic tickets. I was presiding over a misdemeanor jury trial. The defendant was charged with misdemeanor domestic violence, violation of … Continue reading Another Entertaining Dumb Criminal Makes Matters Much Worse
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