I can't imagine any judge would be swayed to relent
Trust me, there are plenty of reasons -- chief of which is the fear of having a judgment overturned by an appeals court. That's pretty much a major strike for a judge who is, after all, an elected official. Yes, it's within that judge's purview to impose a harsh sentence, but I'm sure the defense would argue that it was unusually "harsh" snd "unfair" and would thus likely be overturned.
Most defendants intuitively know that judge's are shackled in this fashion -- and that's why, I think, this one was so shocked by the ruling. Her attitude is unfortunately all too common, despite the perception by most that people are humble when brought into court.
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timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2013-02-07 04:03 pm (UTC)Trust me, there are plenty of reasons -- chief of which is the fear of having a judgment overturned by an appeals court. That's pretty much a major strike for a judge who is, after all, an elected official. Yes, it's within that judge's purview to impose a harsh sentence, but I'm sure the defense would argue that it was unusually "harsh" snd "unfair" and would thus likely be overturned.
Most defendants intuitively know that judge's are shackled in this fashion -- and that's why, I think, this one was so shocked by the ruling. Her attitude is unfortunately all too common, despite the perception by most that people are humble when brought into court.