[SeaHawkFan]

The judge wasn’t conducting a court proceeding, so there was no constitutional violation. He was giving a speech to a group of people.

As for me, I think the guy did the right thing.

[JLS]

The judge wasn’t conducting a court proceeding, so there was no constitutional violation. He was giving a speech to a group of people.

That is what I think too. The Judge was not advising them to plea a certain way nor to change attorneys. He was not adjudicating the cases. So I agree their rights were not violated.

He should have either lecture them in open court or as someone else said if he felt it more effective, ordered everyone regardless of race out of the court, except a court officer to protect him.

[PzLdr]

I respectfully disagree. Those people were there for some purpose related to court proceedings: arraignments, calendar control, whatever. The fact that there were attornies present militates against the argument that the judge “was giving a speech”.

All Court proceedings are, as a matter of constitutional law, required to be open to the public, barring an exception such as I discussed. The judge was in error, and assuming the defendants in his court are part of his caseload, no matter how he disposes of their cases, or how he sentences them, he’s raised the appearance of impropriety.