|
Judge hyper-sensitive about reputation as a punk? |
 |
 |
|
Sunday, 25 June 2006 19:00 |
|
Meet Ohio Judge Eileen Gallagher. A Common Pleas judge in Cleveland, Gallagher dismissed child rape charges against a man because an assistant county prosecutor got to court 45 minutes late.
"You don't show up--too bad," said Gallagher, according to press
reports. "Don't treat me like a punk and not show up in court without
giving us the courtesy of notifying us where you are." A storm of
criticism followed Gallagher's antics, but she insists that her ruling
had nothing to do with the merits of the case itself. Prosecutors say
they were late because they were preparing a motion to remove the judge
from the case, because she had earlier said the alleged victim, who was
nine at the time, lacked credibility. Nevertheless, Gallagher now says
that if prosecutors re-indict the defendant, she will recuse herself.
According to the Akron Beacon Journal, Gallagher says "the state of Ohio, as a party, firmly believes that they can't get a fair trial in my courtroom." The Cleveland Plain Dealer,
in an editorial last week, dealt plainly with the judge. "Dismissing
the case was a vicious slap in the face of the young woman, who
apparently needed years to find the courage to come forward. It was an
affront to the people of this county... And it was an abuse of judicial
power so flagrant that it calls into question Gallagher's fitness to
hold her office."
|
