The letter of the law. The spirit of the law. Common sense. Obviously they’re not equally applied. Two recent examples:
*Debra Lafave, Tampa Bay’s poster lass for lewd and lascivious, is no longer on probation. In what may ultimately be a test case, Hillsborough Circuit Judge Wayne Timmerman unilaterally ended Lafave’s seven years of probation four years early. He said her three years of house arrest, not an easy accomplishment, were sufficient punishment.
What Judge Timmerman obviously played down were the unique Lafave circumstances. Including, presumably, the contention that she was “too pretty” for jail. Facing trial and a potential prison sentence, she cut a deal. Her end of the bargain: three years of house arrest and seven years of probation. The deal was agreed upon by Lafave and victims.
That’s the deal that Judge Timmerman just undid. Prosecutors now want the 2nd District of Appeal to consider Lafave’s plea agreement as a contract. Judge Timmerman says it’s still his quid pro quo call, in effect generously rewarding Lafave for doing what she was ordered to do to avoid trial and jail time.
*There’s also the bizarre case of Judge Cheryl Thomas setting unconscionably low bail ($65,000) for a suspect accused of attempted murder of a law enforcement officer. It was subsequently overruled by Hillsborough County Circuit Judge Walter Heinrich, who denied bail to Matthew Lane Buendia, 24, accused of shooting Hillsborough County sheriff’s Deputy Lyonelle De Veaux three times at point-blank range.
Judges, to be sure, have considerable discretion when it comes to setting bail. Perhaps Judge Thomas was overly influenced by Buendia’s back story. He’s a former marine who served three tours of duty in the Middle East. He is said to suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. And his clean-cut looks and civil demeanor belie the image of one accused of assaulting his girl friend and then gunning down a sheriff’s deputy.
Perhaps Judge Thomas should have employed the legal version of the Hippocratic Oath: “First do no harm.” In this case, first protect society from someone accused of trying to kill one of its protectors.