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Subscribe to RSSA previously suspended judge in Pennsylvania learned that a powerful position won’t preclude the penalty of parking tickets.
A judge on Monday fined magisterial district court judge Kelly Ballentine $1,500 for fixing three of her own parking tickets – a charge five times more expensive than the original fines, the Intelligencer Journal/Lancaster New Era reported.
Ballentine pleaded guilty in February to three misdemeanor counts of tampering with public records, which carry maximum penalties of up to two years in prison.
But Chester County (Pa.) Judge Charles Smith opted for the portentous fine in lieu of jail or probation because Ballentine, 44, is a first-time offender with an “otherwise reputable background,” he said.
Assistant Attorney General Anthony Forray said Ballentine did not try to “rip off Lancaster County for $269.59,” – the cost of her parking fines, but she "was given a certain amount of trust, and she abused that trust."
In court, Ballentine’s attorney said that she showed a “major lapse in judgment” when she dismissed the tickets given to her by city police in December 2010 and January 2011.
Ballentine asked for forgiveness from her friends, family and peers in the judicial system.
"I regret any measure of shame I have brought to them at this time," Ballentine said, according to the Intelligencer.
"What's done is done, but go on and maybe you will work all the harder to do the job you were elected to do," Smith said.
The state Judicial Conduct Board is currently weighing Ballentine’s status as a district judge and could disbar her.
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Hahahahahahahahahahahah!
Good!
Please - - tell me - - this slug can not be replaced by one that has some ethics????
I hope that bitch is disbarred. She got a slap on the wrist, and that makes me VERY angry.
Tickets have been ripping people off for years...
Anyone this dishonest should be immediately disbarred and removed from the bench. She had to know she'd be caught eventually for this and probably thought it wouldn't be a big deal. I'll bet it's a big deal to the hundreds of citizens she levied fines on.
No one I know who ever got fired for stealing a ream of paper was told they could have their job back if they just brought back 5 reams of paper. They got fired for their lack of credibility.
Of ALL possible jobs on the planet, the one that requires the most credibility is that of a judge.
Disbar her. It's the only solution.
And maybe she won't. Disbar her.
Assistant Attorney General Anthony Forray said Ballentine did not try to “rip off Lancaster County for $269.59,” – the cost of her parking fines, but she "was given a certain amount of trust, and she abused that trust."
OMG-Was the AAG a friend of hers or what? She abused that trust by ripping off Lancaster County for $269.59! What a dumbazz comment!
Love it!
Disbar her arse!
Also known as - "I can't believe I got caught and feel so stupid."
Bet they're all democrats.
disbar her
Yes, a Democrat, plus she is black. No wonder she only had to pay 5 times the normal fine, nothing else. She and ANY judge who does something this trivial will indeed do something(s) which are much more serious and should be taken off any judicial bench. BUT, she is black, this happened in PA. where the New Black Panthers harrassed voters in a polling place and they weren't prosecuted nor will this person have any further trouble. Obama and Holder's if they're white...prosecute and if their black or brown...use the turn your head away policy for minorities.
If she had fixed only one (1) ticket and got caught then maybe i would have been swayed on letting her off easy but to go and continue to do this up to when she caught at with a grand total of three (3) tickets is off the books wrong!
She figured she is above the law and can do whatever she wants to do while telling other people in her courtroom that stealing is wrong and sentencing them to jail or prison while all along she is doing the same thing, "breaking the law".
Let her be a normal lawyer as there all crooks anyways but her days of being a judge all over ( I hope) as she took the trust that is given with the job and threw it out the window. I'll bet if she hadn't been caught she would still be doing all of this and she has most likely done "Favors" for friends in high places if they came before her in her courtroom.
She cannot be trusted in the position of judging others anymore, she had her whole time in college to learn the greed of lawyers (Justice) and judges and yet she still went against it, Guilty and the fine they gave her, 5 times the normal amount, give me a break.. more like 100 times the amount and I am very serious about that plus loss of job.
I feel she is still thinking to herself that she is still above the law and hasn't learned a thing from all of this except getting caught isn't fun. Her friends are by her side because she has helped them in some way in her courtroom and that I believe wholeheartedly.
One last thing here and I quote:
Assistant Attorney General Anthony Forray said Ballentine did not try to "rip off Lancaster County for $269.59," – the cost of her parking fines, but she "was given a certain amount of trust, and she abused that trust." end quote.
The heck she didn't!
She tried to rip off the county period for $269.59 and this is the proof. If she had not been caught the fine would not have been paid and she would have ripped off the county since she got rid of the tickets through her position in the courts.
This assistant General attorney "Anthony Forray" isn't much better than she is if he cannot see the light at the end of this tunnel, you sir have tunnel vision and also do not deserve the position you have.
IS this guy blind or what?, and I mean no disrespect to the blind either.
This is a case where her "peers are her friends" and thus should not be judging her or her role as a judge in this matter. (pardon the pun in there)
This should be deiced by the people of that county only!
She needs to step down and join the ranks of dishonest lawyers out there
She needs to be disbarred! She is not above the law and her stealing from the public trust must be considered a felony.
Maybe it is time Main Street Americans took our "elite" Congressional Representatives to court since a heck of a lot of them DO NOT ABIDE by the very same legislation they pass and send to the President for signature.
Case-in-point: There are HUNDREDS of elected Congressional Representatives who have NOT PAID THEIR BACK IRS TAXES.
The next time your Congressional Representative runs for re-election, just ask one question:
Back to the article:
This "Judge" should be taken to court and if convicted, put into a prison cell with one of the inmates she sent to prison.
So the message is that a judge gets off easy when a "commoner" would have been put in jail for grand theft. If a judge will fix tickets for herself, it is highly likely that she has fixed cases for "friends", especially friends with money. There is no moral difference between a small lie and a large lie.
Would the judge have been able to conduct court from a jail cell? I think not. But she can certainly pay a token fine and retain her seat on the bench, telling people how wrong it is to steal.
You have to understand that this is simply "On The Job Training" for judges in PA. They are, without any doubt, the most corrupt in the entire country. Remember the two clowns in Northeast PA who sent hundreds of kids to for-profit correctional facilities in exchange for kickbacks? Typical. But what's worse, the incredibly incompetent and corrupt Supreme (hahaha) Court here PROTECTED THEM for years while they were taking millions.
"Judge" in PA is an insult. They're sort of like used car salesmen, only worse, usually.
If she is allowed to keep her job then every person who comes before her from now on can just bring this issue up so they can get off just like she did,
That's the only fair way right?
All first offenders, no matter the offense, gets a free pass, just as she did.
"I regret any measure of shame I have brought to them at this time,"
Translation - "I'm really, really sorry that I got caught!"
We had a Judge that had an "interest" in a treatment center. Even if your alcohol assessment came back negative, he would sentence all offenders to a fun filled weekend at their expense because it was good to see sobriety at it's "finest". He had two garbage cans, one for trash, the other wine bottles according to the trash man.
Completely standard behavior for the elected judges in Pennsylvania. Much worse are the family court judges. Unbelievable from the view of a civilized, rule of law, perspective.
The first thing I suspected (w/o a picture) was that she is black. So I googled images and 'sho nuff, she be blacker than a bucket of tar'. Need I say more?
No need to say more, you've exposed your stupidity enough already.
In agreement with Jo - no, you don't, in fact, need to say more, so please shut up.
This racism is killin' me! LOL This has to be a joke right?
No joke. Ever since they stopped moderating Newsvine, VA has had a field day trolling his racist nonsense.
I believe he's a 13-year old sitting in his parent's basement getting a kick out of how many people he can rile up. I'm not riled up, but I am guilty of giving him the attention he so desperately craves. My bad.
No, you don't have to say anything more, but I'll bet you're a low-life troll who has never accomplished anything in his/her life that gets off by "suspecting" that there is actually anybody in this society that is lower than you are.
With that being said, how many other tickets did she fix? Family, friends, churchgoers?
Plenty of white "kangaroo" judges out there too.
I'd like to see a whole lot more of these judges who run kangaroo courts get exposed for the judicial misconduct they practice, and see them impeached & disbarred for it. A lot more of this BS goes on than is reported, not blasting the press here, just that it's so widespread that it seems to be accepted practice until someone gets caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar.
Perhaps that judge will hire an attorney from her old law firm to represent her case.
suspend her....and go back & review everything she has done while on the bench...at her expense...to see if she remains fit to serve in the court....or offer her the opportunity to resign.
How's the old saying go: Do as I say, not as I do ??
Here are some words that I think are synonymous with that Judges actions:
Hippocryte, criminal, thief, liar, disrespectful, cheater, selfish, ignorant, immature, dishonorable, topped off with a little lack of self control.
You do the math.. should this person be a judge?
Dishonorable is what I say, and no...
Would anybody caught doing something similar at a non-public service job still be employed? Her new status should be "fired for cause"
An elected official being let off too easy. How about a fine and jail time? When do we say enough is enough.
I personally wouldn't care about fines or jail time so long as this kangaroo judge was "fired" AND disbarred for life. Hit 'em where it counts, set an example for other judges who practice judicial misconduct.
this is where i think china has the right idea when a public employee is doing either, immoral or corrupt...
Death by firing squad. People have been fined and taxed to near the point of not eating, to keep the power water sewer and roof over there heads....and a Judge who makes more money from the government than some will in there life is petty enough to pull this.....so yes. i think a public execution of a public employee is just. I could be a good example to all public employees from the janitor to the senator. Most have forgotten that they are suppose to serve the people not the other way around.
Finally, for a change, justice is served.....
She's still a fracking Judge??!!?!?!!? HOW THE FUDGE IS THAT FUDGING POSSIBLE?!?!?!?!?!!?
justice is not served; intentional extrinsic fraud by a Judge mandates removal from office
What a POS. Remove her from office. No one is above the law. No one. Especially a JUDGE. They should be held to a higher standard. She should be fined 100x the amount to send a clear message,
Wtf, this person is a judge and all she gets is a slap on the wrist!!!!I would place a scarlet letter on her and make her walk the streets of her town and ask for forgiveness from each individual citizen. No wander we are on our way to hell in this country, because the whole make up of this country is pretty much like this judge!!!
I believe disbarring means taking away her license to practice law, not fire her from being a judge. I don't think this is big enough for disbarring, as this will screw up her ability to make a living for the rest of her life. But I also think they should fire her from her judge position, as she abused that position.
The Judge ought to have her license revoked too.
Wait a minute, he should have been FIRED, instead of having to pay just the fines. I guess that is what you call taking care of their own.........................................................................................
Could disbar her? WTF, If I as a cop fixed my daughter or wife's speeding, parking, DUI, whatever, the public would be screaming for my head. And they would be right! Any ruling she makes now will always be questioned!
Let's see here.....If this where little ole' me that did this(you know a middleclass guy ) For sure I'd get the same treatment right? No jail time right? just a slap on the wrist, right?(hey, I've got a perfect record too, not even a speedin' ticket in ALL my years of driving!)
Ohh, on that note...LMAO...the other day I was on a short trip, I counted 29 State Police like bee's on a hive...
They where finding something to give ANYONE a ticket. My response was....Officer, you are so lucky, I wish I had a job like yours, but because I don't, I'm jobless......got that clueless look......
Very simple.....you can give tickets to hard working or jobless people to KEEP your job, meanwhile many work double for less....and some don't have anything....
If I get a ticket Officer......will you pay for it? After all you are the one who has a job....???????
MORE and MORE......our world is becoming a me me me me world....and it's no wonder we are where we are!
It's time to get rid of this Judge......it's time to get rid of Odumba(Obama) It's time to get back to when our older folks where around...more honesty....livin' within one's means....takin' care of your own country before others.......etc etc...
But.....heck....I'm just a middleclass guy who pays and pays and don't know nothin' But now....I'm a middleclass guy.....who can't pay for anything....and probably still don't know nothin'.....What a sad country we live in.....all this just so sad....this is what we've become.... opps I'm sorry did I Judge a JUDGE?
You sound like a poor person.
She has absolutely no place in judging other people now. She should have been tossed out on her ear. Anybody else in any kind of job would have been fired on the spot. All they could come up with is she had a lapse of judgment, and then put her right back on the bench. Isn't that all anybody has when they do something wrong? A lapse of judgment? But they don't get off. Do as I say and not as I do seems to be the mindset of our Judges and politicians. What a bunch of crap. What? You say she is Black?? Well no wonder she got off with a slight tap on the pinky. Wouldn't want that Racist trump card slammed on the table.
This person should no longer be allowed to be a judge. Those who hold power should be held to a higher standard than anyone else.
Magisterial judges in Pennsylvania are not typically lawyers. They are elected officials in the vain of the old Justice of the Peace positions and are supposed to be "common citizens" as it were. I highly doubt this woman is or was a lawyer. More than likely she was a housewife turned secretary turned judge. She could have been a professional, but I have never known any that were professionals and became magisterial judges. That is not a bad thing, but remember she is just an average person and one who really should have thought out her plan before carrying it out. Regular folk given that kind of power can sometimes get carried away. Those offices get audited so she will have to tidy up because those auditors will look very closely at her books.