He’s not a judge yet, so we can’t bestow our coveted Judge of the Day award upon him. But he has secured the Democratic nomination for a judgeship, in Philadelphia — which means he has a decent shot of being elected.
Then again, whether Willie Singletary gets elected to the bench may depend upon how much the electorate appreciates irony. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:
Willie Singletary won a Democratic nomination for Traffic Court last week despite being a scofflaw of major proportions.
As of primary day, Singletary, 26, owed $11,427.50 for 55 violations, including reckless driving, driving without a license, careless driving, driving without registration, and driving without insurance.
In fact, a bench warrant had been issued for his arrest – a fact made public after the election by Bernard Strain, who lost in the Democratic primary for Traffic Court but who won a Republican nomination.
A little more discussion, after the jump.
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Singletary did what any smart eight-year-old would do. He said it was all his brother’s fault:
[His lawyer] said roughly half of the violations were accumulated over several years by a brother of Singletary’s who was using a car owned by the Traffic Court candidate.
(Of course, that still leaves the other half.)
Luckily for Singletary, his daddy rode to the rescue:
Singletary’s father paid all of the fines on his son’s behalf and the warrant was lifted, according to Richard Hoy, the younger Singletary’s lawyer.
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But if Singletary wins the election, he may still need some parental help — like daily rides to the courthouse. Because of his numerous traffic violations, his driver’s license has been suspended. Through 2011.
Traffic Court candidate in a jam [Philadelphia Inquirer]
Traffic Court Nominee Pays Fines [6abc.com]