What’s going on with Judge Sullivan? [Part II]

[rangerrebew]

What’s going on with Judge Sullivan? [Part II]
Posted on May 27, 2020

[NOTE: Here’s Part II, and the plan right now is that there will be a Part III as well, because Part II became very long and unwieldy. Part I can be found here.

ADDITION: And to clear up any misunderstandings that might arise on the following point – nothing in this post or any of the others in the series is an excuse for Judge Sullivan’s behavior, which I believe is inexcusable. These posts are an attempt to offer a description and explanation for the portion of his behavior that consisted of an emotional reaction that got out of control, which is something that should never occur with a judge. Explanations are not excuses.]

I’ve often wondered what it takes to be a judge. Not the academic or job qualifications, but the personality makeup. It seems to me that, although there’s probably a wide variation among judges, a general tendency would be the need to have faith in one’s own decisions and in one’s ability to be fair. Corrupt judges, of course, would have other characteristics, but I’m speaking generally – and let’s hope that generally in this country most judges are not corrupt.

https://www.thenewneo.com/2020/05/27/whats-going-on-with-judge-sullivan-part-ii/

[PeteS in CA]

It's linked in Part II, but for convenience here is the link to Part I, https://www.thenewneo.com/2020/05/23/whats-going-on-with-judge-sullivan-part-i/ . From Part II:

It would take a very naive person to believe that only guilty people plead guilty, particularly as a result of a plea bargain. Many people cling to that notion, however, because to believe otherwise – to believe that a significant number of innocent people plead guilty through fear, intimidation, ignorance, bad legal advice, or frameup – is frightening. It’s a hard thing to face, but it’s true, and it’s also true that in recent years the number of cases decided by plea bargain guilty pleas has risen to huge proportions (see this).

Do some judges actually believe that only the guilty end up pleading guilty? It’s hard to believe judges could be so naive, immersed in the system as they are. But perhaps, on a certain psychological level, they do believe it – or at least they prefer to preserve some portion of that belief in their own minds in order to go about the business of sentencing people.

[Cyber Liberty]

It's linked in Part II, but for convenience here is the link to Part I, https://www.thenewneo.com/2020/05/23/whats-going-on-with-judge-sullivan-part-i/ . From Part II:

It would take a very naive person to believe that only guilty people plead guilty, particularly as a result of a plea bargain. (snip)

Bears repeating:  It would take a very naive person to believe that only guilty people plead guilty, particularly as a result of a plea bargain.

Naive people walk among us.

[PeteS in CA]

Bears repeating:  It would take a very naive person to believe that only guilty people plead guilty, particularly as a result of a plea bargain.

Naive people walk among us.