Yes. The law is not a cut and dried kind of thing that is laid bare for all to see. It is subject to interpretations, definitions, understandings, and all the complications that come with language. The judge had the power of her discretion to decide if, what, and how much of a punishment this woman should receive for…

Having the victim not be in charge of whether to press charges means MORE unwilling victims will be subpoenaed and they will have more of a chance to be held in contempt for not showing up.

As someone who has suffered PTSD after being violently assaulted, the panic attacks are very much a real physiological symptom where the brain’s prefrontal cortex is overactive, causing fight or flight instincts to kick in.

While some judges might have this concern, there is still absolutely no excuse for this ones feral behavior; also victims should not be made to sit in waiting areas with abusers or give testimony in front of them. I’ve seen victims turn up to court and by the time they actually get into the courtroom, they crumble and…

I feel the same way. I looked at the pic and all I could think was “but the judge is a woman... how...” I know it’s silly but still... you think there should be some sort of empathy... especially for other women.

Yeah, she punished a woman for trying to protect her own safety. There’s literally no excuse for abusing power like that.

holding it all in has got to be bad for us, I just know it.

Maybe we can start a kickstarter campaign to fund this woman’s lawsuit against the judge for her damaging sentencing that clearly is going to cause the poor woman AND HER CHILD more pain than they’ve already been through. Because seriously, I really hope this woman gets to sue the judge for all the chips so this kind…

/reads comment

While I’m really glad our judges have attended law schools and passed bars, can we also get them some serious training in mental health issues? It’s amazing what dumbasses can sit on those benches.

This is not the way to encourage people to testify. I don’t think the victim should have been held in contempt. No wonder she struggled to testify. Abuse victims are frequently in the position of having to move, change jobs, and completely start their life over. It should not be surprising that depression and anxiety…

And people wonder why domestic violence victims don’t call the cops, even if it means they end up dead. It’s either this kind of treatment or not being believed at all.

Ah Republicans. When they actually appoint a woman for something they scour the earth to find the most evil, misogynistic ones possible.

She wasn’t really denying the fact that the woman suffers from anxiety, more taking glee in the fact that she’s willingly choosing to subject the woman to an experience (jail time) that she knows is going to make the problem much, much worse. Which is, itself, much, much worse.

If I remember correctly, the amount of women who testify against their abuser and are subsequently murdered is ridiculously high. Can a woman really be blamed for not wanting to testify?

^^^ this yes !! yes!!! It’s insulting to make fun or disbelieve someone who suffers anxiety.

Women drop charges and don’t appear to testify in domestic violence situations because if their abusers aren’t jailed (which they often AREN’T) it means the women are risking being KILLED by their abusers for exposing them. They are afraid of being KILLED. This is such basic information that should ALWAYS be taken…

That’s not how this fucking works.

Out of curiosity, does anybody have data on elected judge states and domestic violence rates vs. appointed judge states?