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Judge of the Day: Jeffrey Levenson

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One of the perks of being a judge is that everyone has to laugh at your jokes. Except when they’re in poor taste and arguably offensive.
If you’re going to make an attempt at humor in the courtroom, proceed with caution — even if you’re the one wearing the robe. From Rumpole (via S.D. Fla. Blog):

Well, those fine folks North Of the Border have done it again.

This time it is Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Levenson, who put his robed foot in his mouth by making an inappropriate joke about the Defendant in a sexual battery case during the charge conference….

To summarize, apparently the Defendant is a high school football player, and the case involved the allegation of illegal sexual contact with another male. Judge Levenson asked what position the defendant played. He was told “linebacker” and another person in the courtroom said “Tight End” at which point Judge Levenson said “Wide Receiver?”

A little bit more, after the jump.


To his credit, Judge Levenson immediately apologized for the remark, which he acknowledged was inappropriate. He also offered a rather strange explanation for his quip (which makes him seem more like a petulant schoolboy than a sitting judge):

You can review the full exchange — which also includes another gem, defense lawyer Brian Reidy saying his client “has trouble telling the truth” — over at JAABlog (PDF).
Broward state court [Southern District of Florida Blog]
State of Florida v. Atkins [JAABlog (PDF; hearing transcript)]
The Levenson Reidy Exchange [JAABlog]

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