Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sentencing

How many Judge Judys are out there?

mpls2 — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 11:57:11 -0800

Do judges actually make sentencing decisions based on a person's demenor? It seems that judges will occassionally mention a defendant's demenor in court when explaining their sentencing decisions (whether the observations were made over the course of the entire trial or just on the day of sentencing).

I'd like to believe that the justice system is basically rational and objective, and that judges aren't running around playing Dr Phil thinking that they can look into a person's soul. I think people are basically bad at that; especially when the bias of a criminal conviction enters the picture.

Do judges actually make serious life-changing decisions based on peoples' appearance/facial expressions, or do they just use those observations to justify decisions that they arrive at more or less objectively?

Thanks!

What can be done now for Julie Amero?

lorimer — Fri, 01 Jun 2007 07:57:04 -0800

Julie Amero. Are there ANY concrete actions a non-expert stranger could take to decrease the chance she'll do jail time? Julie Amero is the substitute teacher in Connecticut who's currently facing up to 40 years in jail, for having been present in the same room as a malware-infested computer when it displayed popup porn ads in view of students. She's gotten international support from amazed techies (including a full-page ad in her local paper, taken out by 28 concerned computer science professors, saying she did not originate and could not have controlled the popups).

Her sentencing has now been postponed twice (maybe a good sign?) and is currently scheduled for June 6th. Her husband has a small blog with a list of local officials' contact info but it's not clear which of these officials would be important or relevant to contact at this point. Beyond that, is there anything else I or others could do? (Legal, sane and non-assholish please... this is a serious situation, please let's talk about real possibilities if there are any left.) There was a mefi thread about this in January but it has no discussion of actions that could be taken.

I find this a truly frightening case -- sure makes me want to never again be in the same classroom as a child and a computer.

Can one withdraw a guilty plea before setencing?

LouReedsSon — Thu, 30 Dec 2004 09:37:45 -0800

Legal question

Can one withdraw a guilty plea before setencing? (more inside) Sorry to beg for free legal advice, but funds are low right now...

Recently my son was charged with a pretty serious crime and was offered a reduction in return for his guilty plea. He accepted and was dealt a serious sentence. I have a few issues with the way this all went down and wonder if there exists a way to withdraw his plea. I know I should be talking to his attorney, but he won't return my calls.