Subj : Re: Yay Texas To : alt.tv.farscape From : Trouble Date : Tue Oct 04 2005 13:45:42 From Newsgroup: alt.tv.farscape Trouble wrote: > John I wrote: >> Trouble wrote: >>>> Steve Brooks wrote: >>>> http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,12271,1584270,00.html >>> Put in that context the only thing that makes this a story is the >>> fact the woman was a Sunday school teacher. >> and her extreme behavior on the bench. don't make excuses for nuts. http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/092905 dnmetnewjudge.167116db.html You could read the whole thing here, I selected a few pieces from the article it seems the balance of attourneys quoted aren't "horrified" she hardly seems like a nut to me or her colleagues. "SHERMAN u State District Judge Lauri Blake recently laid down the law to a 17-year-old drug offender: As a condition of probation, she barred the teenager from having sex as long as the girl is living with her parents and attending school." Seems it wasn't just that one 17 year old either "Judge Blake prohibits tattoos, body piercings, earrings and clothing "associated with the drug culture" for those who are on probation and free on bond. And she makes poor defendants pay a portion of their legal defenses." "Sleeveless shirts are out. Same with cleavage, said Sharron Cox, president of the Fannin County Bar Association. Strict decorum is expected. No handshake deals." "It used to be like a circus, lawyers milling around," said Fannin County District Attorney Richard Glaser. "She makes them sit and come up one at a time." The district attorney is investigating the complaint of a lawyer who was briefly ordered into a holding cell after the judge admonished him for his manners. "Collin County District Attorney John Roach called her "smart as a whip" and said she was "fair but tough." "In the past, all the judges knew all the attorneys and were friends with them," lawyer Joe Moss said. "There was a very casual relationship between them in the past. She has a much more formal approach." Grayson County District Attorney Joe Brown, the judge's former boss, said Judge Blake does not "suffer fools." "She's restored decorum to the courtroom. She runs a tight ship," he said. "Some people aren't used to that. This county is changing. It's moving from a good ol' boy county to a more sophisticated court system." Judge Blake has not issued a formal set of rules. Rather, she generally makes her wishes known in court and in meetings with lawyers. Some of them get lost in translation, however, like the rumor that she banned cowboy boots and open-toed shoesfrom her courtroom. Some offended Some local lawyers presented a different perspective. "She told me to stand up straight and don't touch the bench," said lawyer James A. Fry, about a recent hearing. "It was like talking to a child." "This woman is completely out of control," said Mr. Stagner, who has practiced for more than 36 years. "There is a revolution. Ninety percent of this bar is horrified." She recently handled 70 criminal cases and three civil cases in a single day, said Mr. Moss, the Grayson County lawyer. Clyde Siebman, Grayson County's Republican Party chairman, said the complaints about Judge Blake are overblown and come mainly from those who voted against her. "They contended during the election that she wouldn't be able to run her court," said Mr. Siebman, who supported her candidacy. "She won because she is well-respected. She was tough on crime as a prosecutor. People like that." Dallas County District Judge John Creuzot recently met with Judge Blake during a training session he conducted in Grayson County. He said judges have to be creative and target the behavior that gets people into trouble. "Just because it's unusual doesn't mean it can't be effective and appropriate," he said. "You have to be creative to get to the underlying circumstances of their behavior." He said that Judge Blake puts much of her own time into Grayson County's drug court and that she recently spent a weekend cleaning a cemetery alongside drug offenders. "She really is committed to them doing better," Judge Creuzot said. LAURI J. BLAKE Age: 40 Hometown: Sanger Education: Bachelor's degree in criminal justice, University of North Dakota, 1987; law degree, Southern Methodist University, 1993; board certified in criminal law since 1999 Professional: Graduated from Dallas Police Academy, 1987 and served three years as a Dallas police officer; Collin County assistant district attorney, June 1993-February 2000; special assistant U.S. attorney in Sherman, March 2000-February 2001; first assistant Grayson County attorney, 2001-2004; district judge, 336th District Court, January- present Civic: Allen Planning and Zoning Commission, 2000-2001; board of directors of the Grayson County Children's Advocacy Center and the Keep Sherman Beautiful Commission; former vice chairwoman of operations, Grayson County Republican Party -- "Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Seek what they sought." --Basho .