Judge of the Day: Jeffrey Levenson
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]
Comments
first - that's the oldest joke in the book
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 11:28 AM
cool
Posted by: cool | October 24, 2007 11:30 AM
Thank god he wasn't also accused of being fat.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 11:32 AM
Someone notify Seancody.com . . .
Posted by: GM | October 24, 2007 11:35 AM
Did the judge have a Vlassic pickle in his hand when he told that joke? What a hack.
Viva Monster Rain.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 11:37 AM
This is no big deal. Football players at my high school told jokes like this all the time.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 11:44 AM
Is the center smoking a cigarette?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 11:45 AM
now that's just funny!
Posted by: Imus | October 24, 2007 11:46 AM
I'm confused about this case-- apparently it involved consensual sex between a 41-year-old male and a 16-year-old high school football player. It would seem that the 16 y/o is the victim here-- why is he a defendant here?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 11:46 AM
This blog is getting worse by the .10 of a minute.
Posted by: boring | October 24, 2007 11:47 AM
This truly sucks. I am beginning to think that Billy Merck has killed Lat and is having a "Weekend at Bernies" adventure.
Posted by: Long time reader | October 24, 2007 11:54 AM
That is a good one.
Give me those ribs.
Viva Monster Rain, indeed!
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 12:32 PM
NICE PHOTO
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 01:11 PM
Love the alt-text on the photo: "gay football." Kind of redundant, though, don't you think?
Posted by: I Hate the Guy Who Hates Billy Merck | October 24, 2007 01:21 PM
was there space food involved?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 01:37 PM
O&A (and Jimmy) fans to 190!!!!
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 01:47 PM
"illegal sexual contact with another male"? Since when is gay sex illegal? WTF is the back story here?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 02:26 PM
The Rumpole excerpt has it wrong. The joke was about the VICTIM, who is the 16 yr old high school football player, not the defendant.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 02:41 PM
"Since when is gay sex illegal?"
It isn't, unless one of the participants either doesn't or is unable to consent.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 03:15 PM
isn't it strange that Lat is SOOOOO talented at finding R-rated gay porn cover pictures?
Does he still deny being gay?
Posted by: anon | October 24, 2007 03:27 PM
2:41 is right. The joke was about the victim.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 03:34 PM
Is Brandon Cox getting sued or something?
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 03:36 PM
OK, it seems like someone missed the story here. Ms. Alcalde and Mr. Cotrone appear to be the prosecutors, and both said that the victim played linebacker, which appears to be factually accurate. Mr. Reidy, who appears to be the defense attorney FOR THE ACCUSED CHILD MOLESTER, chimes in to quip "tight end," after which the judge plays along and says "wide receiver." How about Mr. Reidy apologizing? n And how about how this is more than a bad joke--it's the adjudicator and the opposing attorney not just poking fun of the victim, but making light of the conduct itself. Imagine this being a statutory rape case where the underage female played on a women's rugby team, and defense counsel or the judge joking that the victim was a hooker--I can only imagine the reaction to that. Kudos to Ms. Alcalde for standing up to a judge who sure wasn't acting like one.
Posted by: Anon | October 24, 2007 04:13 PM
3:27 - Lat is pretty openly gay (see his Facebook profile).
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 04:21 PM
I hate it when judges make gay jokes.
Posted by: Arizona Sunset | October 24, 2007 06:32 PM
Lat, thank you for the eye candy accompanying this post. In fact, if you could go ahead and put hot homoerotic pics next to more of your items, I think I would enjoy ATL even more than I do now.
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 08:34 PM
Well, a couple of things are reassuring here:
1) We have a lawyer who respectfully stands up for her client, and challenges a judge for his out-of-line statements, and
2) A judge who actually repeatedly apologizes for his lack of sensitivity, and asks the lawyer for forgiveness.
I'd say both individuals ended up displaying incredibly mature behavior...and who would have thunk that, in a courtroom???
Posted by: tom | October 24, 2007 09:49 PM
HOT PHOTO OF SEXY MEN
Posted by: Anonymous | October 24, 2007 10:30 PM
The guys in the photo are super tasty, tasty. I hope you can work similar photos into future stories.
Posted by: Taster | October 24, 2007 11:16 PM
Lat has quite the eye for this stuff:
http://www.abovethelaw.com/2007/09/atl_practice_pointers_do_not_f.php
Posted by: anon | October 25, 2007 12:23 AM
Best picture in the history of ATL
::masturbates ecstatically::
Posted by: Anon | October 25, 2007 12:28 AM
That image is one of the top google images for "gay football"
Posted by: Anonymous | October 25, 2007 01:11 AM
But can the guy "go deep?"
Posted by: Annie Nonimous | October 25, 2007 03:30 PM