The real, Make-A-Wish, or will this make your wish, your honor?
Posted on 04/25/2005 6:43:26 PM PDT by Land_of_Lincoln_John
OSHKOSH, Wis. (AP) It's a choice that could give pause to some Green Bay Packers fans.
A judge ordered an Appleton woman convicted of theft to decide whether to spend 90 days in jail or donate her family's Packers tickets next season to charity.
Sharon E. Rosenthal, 59, of Appleton, took more than $3,000 from labor union accounts before she left the organization, according to a criminal complaint. She was sentenced Friday in Winnebago County Circuit Court on one felony count of theft.
Judge Scott Woldt offered her the decision to either serve the jail time or donate her family's four seats in the Packers' three-game season package to the Make-A-Wish Foundation.
The jail time or the ticket donation will occur as part of Rosenthal's overall two-year period of probation.
Information from: Oshkosh Northwestern, http://www.thenorthwestern.com
The real, Make-A-Wish, or will this make your wish, your honor?
I like this Judge.. Have it your way,, But you're gonna pay.
First, the tickets are the family's tickets. Is the judge punishing her family for her nefarious deeds? Sort of sounds like something the Taliban would do. Saddam used to punish an entire family, too.
Second, why is she not allowed to pay back the money and do community service work?
Although, I'm sure the judge means well, but still he is punishing this woman's family by making her decide if she goes to jail or give up their Packer Season Tickets.
Now I hope her family wants her around for 90 days and will happily give up their tickets. Of course, on the other hand, there are some really die-hard family Green Bay Packer's fans that would say, hey, we love you but just do the time".
Man, this judge sure is cruel to divide a family like this just because she pilfered some union cash. Hey, lady, give a call to Sandy Berger, I think he can tell you how to get off with just a slap on your hand.
Hey I got an idea..........
Go to jail AND give up your tickets for a year.
Jail, restitution, and paying up a big fine of cold hard cash is the best way to go.
I actually agree with you.
So if I have an asset the judge likes then he can "take" the asset under threat of jail vs simply paying back the money during the course of probation.
There is more to this story than is being said. I am never comfortable with judges deciding to "take" stuff.
Judges usually make this "creative" offers when they know there is zero chance of appeal. No money, and since it is a plea, the BS notion of consent is played up.
Nope, I gotta disagree ... too many times the family enjoys the ill-gotten gains but receives no punishment. I think the family enjoyed the extra income so the punishment is very fitting. The next time mom goes to commit a crime, the family will drop a dime on her to save the seats.
Nah, that would have been making her exchange them for Dallas tickets this year. =(
This is idiotic. What kind of ruling is this? Put the woman in jail , make her pay a fine, or perform community service. Donating her "families" season tickets is going overboard IMO. She committed the crime, not her family.
I really want to know more about the details.
Are these the type of season seats where you can simply buy the next set the following year? or are they a one shot deal.
I think I would feel less suspicious of a judge taking property IF he could tie the 3k directly to the seat tickets.
My concerns may be a bit essoteric, but I think trial court judges have a piss poor record of logic of late.
"too many times the family enjoys the ill-gotten gains but receives no punishment."
Just because someone may have benefited indirectly from a crime does not mean they should be held into account for the crime ( if in fact they had nothing to do with the crime ).
This is basically the same argument being used for slavery reparations.
Nah, that would have been making her exchange them for Dallas tickets this year. =(
LOL. I was thinking Oakland...
I think I would be less concerned if there was a DIRECT showing that the 3k was directly used to buy the tickets.
Of course she could have offered the tickets herself and that part is not covered by the story.
"I think I would be less concerned if there was a DIRECT showing that the 3k was directly used to buy the tickets."
The article states the tickets belonged to the family. I take that as ownership of the tickets has been proven to belong to more than one person.
Unless there is "direct" evidence showing the money from the crime was used to buy the tickets, the judge has no right to seize ( or request ) the tickets be given to charity as part of a plea agreement. If there is direct evidence showing the purchase of the tickets with the money taken from the crime, then I would concede the court has the right to seize the tickets.
The victim should be considered here as well.
Nope, I gotta disagree ... too many times the family enjoys the ill-gotten gains but receives no punishment. I think the family enjoyed the extra income so the punishment is very fitting. The next time mom goes to commit a crime, the family will drop a dime on her to save the seats.
Yep! Sure sounds like perhaps the tickets came from her ill gotten gain. What else would explain this bizarre sentence?
Could just be a bizarre judge too. It aint like we don't have a few, running and screaming thru the halls, is it?
I sense a Jack Benny moment coming on....
And a FYI to all out-of-staters: in these here parts, you don't just BUY season tickets. You put your name on a waiting list that is YEARS long.
And cruel and unusual would have been Bears tickets.
;o)
We don't know for what specific use she took the money. Maybe, she wanted reimbursement for her union dues that the union stold from her paycheck without her assent. Who knows.
Sure would like more details on this matter. Seems to me the judge should not punish the family for a family members crime. They could all be innocent and unknowing. I think it is too much retaliation.
But, you do have a good point about 'dropping a dime on her to save the seats.'
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