Open mouth, insert foot

I'm sorry Judge, you did step over the line on this, as well-intentioned as you might have thought you were.

You could have assessed jail-time as a condition of probation.

Black judge rejects plea deal for 'white boy'

Says three months of probation for fighting with a cop is 'ridiculous'
msnnbc.com -

PITTSBURGH — A black judge from western Pennsylvania rejected a plea agreement for a man accused of fighting with police during a traffic stop, saying it was "a ridiculous plea that only goes to white boys." 

The plea agreement was for a sentence of three months probation. Allegheny County Judge Joseph Williams said on Tuesday that a black defendant in that situation would not have been treated as leniently.

In court, Williams told Assistant District Attorney Brian Catanzarite that he "for some reason comes up with I think ridiculous pleas whenever it's a young white guy," according to The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. "I'm just telling you what my observation is. If this had been a black kid who did the same thing, we wouldn't be talking about three months' probation."

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