Boston Globe - Dougan may be the most lenient judge in Boston, a prosecutor’s nightmare whose decisions are appealed by district attorneys far more often than any other judge in the Boston Municipal Court system, court records show. Appeals courts overturn his decisions the most, too, more than once including stern warnings that he should follow the law instead of his personal feelings. The 20-year-veteran judge’s reputation is so well established that one defendant predicted to police that he would go free after he went before “Judge Let Me Go’’ Dougan, according to the police report....Dougan’s defenders, including numerous defense attorneys, say that Conley’s tactics are both unwarranted and a threat to the independence of judges. “Some judges will do what the district attorney wants 95 percent of the time,’’ said Peter Krupp, board member of the Massachusetts Trial Lawyers Association, which has filed a brief supporting Dougan with the SJC. “Is the judge doing what the law requires, independently exercising his discretion, or is the judge abdicating his or her discretion in deference to the DA?’’ Dougan’s attorney, Michael B. Keating, says Conley is harassing a judge with an “unblemished record.’’
So the Boston Globe ran this gigantic expose on this "Judge Letmego" character earlier this week that took me about 4 days to finish reading. Basically they could have summed it up with: "Judge Dougan is the most lenient and criminal friendly Judge in Boston, prosecutors, cops, and victims alike hate him." Seriously Globe, that would have sufficed.
But that's aside the point here, the main point here should be that in Boston, apparently it's not ok for a Judge to independantly weigh the facts of a case without just doing whatever it is the DA wants him to do or believing every word that comes out of a police mans mouth. Shocking. You'd think one infallable tennant of our Justice system was that the Judge was supposed to just agree with whatever law enforcement officials say given the outrage over this judge finding a few people innocent. This isn't Russia with the KGB people, wake up, you might not like a judge's decision once in a while but its still a far better system than one where the corrupt and power thirsty officers are your judge, jury, and executioner.
