Judge Gets Probation for Felony Bribery (campaign $$ in exchange for rulings from the bench)

[The Straight Story]

Judge Gets Probation for Felony Bribery


McKINNEY, Texas (CN) - A jury convicted a state judge of felony bribery, and Susan Wooten on Monday agreed to serve 10 years of probation, resign from the bench and waive her right to appeal.

Wooten was accused last year of taking bribes to fund her 2008 election campaign in exchange for rulings from the bench.

Under an agreement announced outside the jury's presence, Wooten, 43, acknowledged the jury's guilty verdicts on six bribery counts and one each of money laundering, record tampering and engaging in organized criminal activity. She will also be fined $10,000 and must serve more than 1,000 hours of community service.

Wooten's attorney Peter Schulte told The Associated Press that Wooten was disappointed with the guilty verdicts, but was "ready to move on with her life."

http://www.courthousenews.com/2011/11/29/41759.htm

[denverbill]

1. Personally, I think that's a travesty of justice.

Probation for judicial bribery? Should have been 10 years in jail, period.

[hobbit709]

2. Why isn't she in jail?

Bribery and corruption is a bit more serious than a drug possession charge.

[Uben]

3. But, isn't that totally legal?

If not, someone better tell congress, they've been doing it forever! Maybe Wooten should sue congress for setting a bad example.

[kickysnana]

8. I thought that was business as usual in Texas. n/t

[Uben]

9. It is!

I live about 30 miles from McKinney Texas in a town that is now much smaller than McKinney. The "good ole boy" system has always ran our town. If you get in trouble and you have the money, you can get away with anything. No money? You're screwed.

I'm serious as a heart attack. Everyone knows if you use certain attorneys and pay them well, things just "go away".

They give "profit sharing" a whole new meaning.

[backtoblue]

4. Probation!

Perhaps the judge who sentenced her should be looked into...

[closeupready]

5. She commits 9 felonies and walks free.

Nice work, if you can get it - I mean, if you're a crook.

[closeupready]

6. Oh, and this is terrific - she took at least $60,000 and gets fined $10,000.

>>The indictments describe six payments, ranging from $10,000 to $50,000, that allegedly were paid from Jan. 4, 2008, to March 14, 2008.<<

When Michael Crichton wrote that "crime pays", he certainly was on the bullseye.

[asjr]

7. Did she buy this out also? She

was "disappointed with the guilty verdicts" Did she get by all those years and thought she could continue to do so?

[TexYellowDogDem]

10. No surprise: Another Republican judge

"Wooten defeated longtime incumbent Judge Charles Sandoval in the Republican primary in 2008."

[noiretextatique]

11. outrageous...10 years probation?!

:wtf: further proof that the justus system coddles the rich/powerful and punishes the poor/powerless.

Homeless Man Jailed for Stealing Food Freed After 13 Years
And a California man has been freed from prison after serving thirteen years following his arrest for trying to forcibly enter a church soup kitchen because he was hungry. Gregory Taylor had been sentenced to twenty-five years to life in prison under the state’s controversial three-strikes law. At the time of his last arrest, he was homeless and suffering from drug addiction. Taylor’s release came in part due to efforts by students working on the Three Strikes Project at the Criminal Defense Clinic at Stanford Law School. Taylor says he plans to work for a food pantry run by his brother.

http://www.democracynow.org/2010/8/20/headlines/homeless_man_jailed_for_stealing_food_freed_after_13_years