Except here.
We have no difficulty in concluding that the trial court, by adjudicating him a felon, penalized Hodges simply for exercising his right to a jury trial. The court expressly and clearly stated as much when it told Hodges during sentencing that had he tendered a plea, an adjudication of guilt would have been withheld, but since Hodges elected not to plead and was later found guilty at trial by the jury, “he of course is being adjudicated guilty.” In other words, had Hodges not elected to proceed to trial, his punishment or sentence would have been less harsh—namely, he would have received a withhold of adjudication of guilt and would not be an adjudicated felon.
Opinion_2025-1998 by Anonymous PbHV4H
Now for our robed readers who will never admit to imposing a trial tax, take a deep breath when you read this. And give the trial judge some credit for at least being honest about what he was doing and why.
25 comments:
Why was Mr. Hodges prosecuted in the first place?! Perhaps if some prosecutorial discretion was used …
RUMPOLE. I’m going broke on Nvidia and Meta and Google and Apple I need to sell on Monday.
:(
Think of this. Can you name me one time - just one -where an event caused the market to drop and it did not recover ? Sell only if it’s an emergency. Jim Cramer started trading for Goldman the Dow was 1000. Now it’s 43,000. It’s the greatest wealth engine ever devised. Stay the course. When people are scared be greedy - Warren Buffett. And he kinda did ok.
Rump tense times in my household. The Houthi rebels attacked Israel last night and my Houthi gf has been on the phone non stop. Not good.
So I went to Publix yesterday and took advantage of the 2/1 sale of a box of popcorn. If I go today, that discount will not be there. Instead of a trial tax, it is a plea discount. That is why they call it plea bargaining. I understand Double Jeopardy but let's say a defendant is offered a WH and time served, he goes to trial and is acquitted. Is the State justified in asking a judge to vacate the verdict and impose the original sentence. Of course not. You take your chances.
Is the unethical pompous chief still “winning at all cost?” Kathy you pick real winners over there don’t you.
Nice win!
So the Judge's job to evaluate the defendant as a person weighed against the facts of the case isn't what Judges are supposed to do? In your view it's lose and get more because you had the audacity to invoke the constitution and require the Crown to prove the case beyond a reasonable doubt? You are why the legal system is doomed. One of the best judges to serve in the REGJB was Fred Moreno. I once saw him sentence a defendant below the plea offer and below the guidelines in a second degree murder case (back when the guidelines were a reasonable 12-17 for second degree murder) based on the facts of the case and the defendant. But don't worry- I have no expectations DeSantis drones will do anything other than call balls and strikes and be neutral and follow the law unless it benefits the defendant whereupon a more nuanced ruling to avoid the benefits are required. You don't think most judges in the building have some inkling about how politics sunk Wil Thomas's federal nomination because he did his job as he saw fit and didn't sentence the defendant to the max on a DUI manslaughter? The message was sent and received loud and clear, which I am sure makes you very happy.
Kathy’s office is a mess / every month there is something new that makes u realize that it is time for change.
The example you chose demonstrates you don’t understand that the person charged with a crime has constitutional rights and the state doesn’t. One of those constitutional rights is not to be punished for going to trial, like it or not.
Rumpole. You seem to have made the case that when the detailed facts about what happened in the case when combined with a detailed background of who the defendant is do permit the judge to sentence differently than the original plea offer. If Moreno, as you say, heard all of the detailed facts during the trial, and learned more about the defendant, determined that the now convicted defendant deserved a lighter sentence than the original plea offer, then it seems reasonable that the flip side is also fair. Once the judge has sat through the detailed factual accounting of the case, and learned more about the defendant, and the judge now feels that the now convicted defendant deserves a harsher sentence than the original plea offer, that seems just as fair as your example with Moreno.
The SAO division chief in Judge Young's court is horrible. I believe her name is Rachel. All day, she gives defense lawyers dirty looks and treats them like they're more guilty than their clients are. Can someone please get her to grow up and act like a professional? Enough of all the snide comments and dirty looks. David, when are you going to stop that crap.
Of course the flip side is reasonable. What is not reasonable or constitutional but which occurs every day in this country is what you wrote in your original comment. Go to trial And run the risk and lose and you get a more severe sentence. And that’s what I responded to. And that’s the way 98% of state court judges think and act.
The Corey Smith case will forever show what ASA’s are trained to be.
“We love you Bill”
For more than 10 years, prosecutors have kept Brown protected at a local jail, preventing him from being sent off to prison and offering him a chance at an early release as they leaned on him for help, according to records reviewed by the Herald.
10:29 - If the heavier sentence after trial is motivated by information that the judge learned during trial about the crime or about the defendant, he should say that. But this judge said he was motivated to impose a heavier sentence by the defendant's exercise of his right to trial. It's not difficult for a judge to overcome a presumption of vindictiveness. But this was actual vindictiveness.
Fn 3 about State's concession in their answer brief troubled me: I think that the State should have conceded error immediately, and thereby avoided a reported opinion in a well-reasoned and recent case for fundamental error (though I had the impression that the issue had been preserved by trial counsel) which provided powerful ammo for the defense in other cases.
The AG's reluctance to concede error is of long standing, of course, including both Dems and Rep AGs.
I am going broke on ASML, I need this to turn around....FAST.
so, buy the dip?
That’s nothing compared to the Corey Smith ASA. He is a real jerk.
There hasn't been a Dem AG in 22 years. Might change though, R's seem to be losing every election.
Which one, they both are…
Well process of elimination who is still around?
You should diversify
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