Attorney Misconduct, Benchslaps, Judge of the Day, Jury Duty, Legal Ethics, State Judges

When Judges Attack! Judge Rips Jury For Not Guilty Verdict

A judge could face disciplinary charges after castigating a jury. And this isn't even her first questionable act.

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Judges are a fun lot. When they aren’t busy trawling for strippers or sharing racist remarks on the record, judges can have perfectly entertaining meltdowns over explicitly judicial matters.

Like this judge. She wasn’t too keen on the defendant, and let the jury hear about it when they voted to acquit…

Judge Amy Salerno of Franklin County, Ohio, lost her cool on Friday after the jury entered its not guilty verdict in a misdemeanor assault trial:

Judge Amy Salerno expressed her dissatisfaction with a jury’s verdict in open court at the conclusion of a recent trial, according to four jurors, who complained about the incident to Franklin County Administrative Judge James Green.

“The judge came off the bench, and she indicated she thought they had gotten the verdict wrong,” Judge Green said. “They were further told, 99 percent of the time, the jury gets it right. It’s now 98 percent. They brought that percentage down by getting it wrong.”

One of the jurors who spoke to Judge Green was visibly upset while describing the actions of Salerno, who also stated that she was not done with the defendant that had been acquitted.

What Judge Salerno didn’t realize was that this was just MTV’s attempt to bring back Boiling Points. According to one supposed witness who claimed to be in the courtroom:

Her speech from the bench prompted at least one juror to burst into tears and another requested an escort home, fearing for her safety after the response from the judge and menacing looks from friends and family of the prosecuting witness. Additionally, the judge had invited other jurors from the jury pool to sit in the courtroom to witness the verdict. After witnessing her tirade the remaining jurors had to be dismissed, causing other trials to be delayed. This is not the first incident of misconduct I have witnessed or heard of in her courtroom but it is by far the worst.

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Burst into tears? Either this was the wussiest jury ever or Judge Salerno needs to become a drill sergeant.

Yesterday, Judge Salerno explained herself in an effort to desperately stave off disciplinary charges earnestly apologize:

Judge Salerno released a statement on Monday, in which she admitted to vocally expressing her disagreement with the jurors’ decision.

“I was deeply surprised by the jury’s verdict in this case, and failed to contain my surprise,” Salerno said in the statement. “I am deeply sorry if my words in any way have offended. I can appreciate how they may have been taken in some other way.”

But as the earlier comment suggested, this wasn’t the first time Judge Salerno has acted out. In the video accompanying the ABC 6 piece, we get to see Judge Salerno scolding other defendants before their trials, including a former Ohio State player, Antonio Henton, picked up a solicitation charge.

Calling Henton “an ambassador of Ohio State University,” Salerno told him that “I and many fans and graduates of Ohio State University are very disappointed to see you here today in my courtroom.”

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Putting aside the propriety of expressing “disappointment” when someone is still presumed innocent, how does Salerno expect to survive in Columbus without attaching the pretentious “THE” before every mention of Ohio State? Double f**king newsflash, Your Honor: it’s “an ambassador of THE Ohio State University.” Get that straight before the next time you preside over a Buckeye’s criminal trial.

Since this is an Urban Meyer team, that will likely be soon.

Franklin Co. Judge Scolds Jury After Not Guilty Verdict [ABC 6]
Municipal Court Judge Rips Jury [Topix]

Earlier: Judge Allegedly Pounds Gavel, Stripper
Professional Benchslapper Gets Admonished By Fifth Circuit Over His Own Racial Insensitivity

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