Crime

Black Judge Rejects Plea Deal for ‘White Boy’

PITTSBURGH (The Blaze/AP) — A black judge from western Pennsylvania rejected a plea agreement for a man accused of fighting with police during a traffic stop saying it was “a ridiculous plea that only goes to white boys.”

Allegheny County Judge Joseph Williams, who is black, claimed on Tuesday that a black defendant in the same situation would not have been treated as leniently.

The Pittsburgh Tribune-Review says Williams made the comments after a prosecutor proposed three months of probation for a white man with no criminal record who agreed to plead guilty to disorderly conduct.

Williams recused himself after making the comments and a white judge accepted the plea agreement for 24-year-old Jeffery McGowan, who had faced charges including aggravated assault.

Williams’ secretary on Wednesday told The Associated Press the judge does not give interviews.

However in court, he did offer some “observations”:”(Assistant District Attorney Brian) Catanzarite for some reason comes up with I think ridiculous pleas whenever it’s a young white guy,” Williams said. “I’m just telling you what my observation is. If this had been a black kid who did the same thing, we wouldn‘t be talking about three months’ probation,” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review reports.

“Now that the court has essentially called me a racist, I think that’s unfair. I don’t make offers based on race. I make offers based on facts,” Catanzarite responded to the paper.

When Williams was asked in court if he was rejecting the deal only because the defendant was white, he gave seemingly conflicting answer: “Not because he’s white, but because it’s a ridiculous plea that only goes to white boys that come into this court for the same facts, and I’m not going for it.”

This isn‘t the first time race has come up in Williams’s court. The Tribune-Review reports that last week he denied a request by a black man for a re-trial because the jury in the case was all white, but admitted that the jury probably didn‘t understand Bey’s rough upbringing.

Comments (182)

  • A1955Rosie
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:40pm

    How about we treat them ALL THE SAME. YOU DON’T FIGHT WITH POLICE!

    Report Post » A1955Rosie  
    • FFPanama
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:06pm

      You are absolutely correct.

      By the way, I am NOT raciest…I don’t like Biden either!

      Report Post » FFPanama  
    • mallsniper
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:45pm

      Why not fight the police?
      A badge and a gun mean what?
      That I surrender my rights to protect myself and my proerty to some college educated union slug?
      Anyone that enforces and promotes unconstitutional laws are the enemy and must be fought.
      DWI roadblocks for example, are unconstitutional.
      When the enforcing agency does the educating, it is nazi tactics. (DARE program)
      They are in your schools, not to protect your children, but to teach them to be ignorant of their constitutional rights and to submit to the officer.
      Police are not liable for your safety, so who is?
      Ever been pulled over, exercised your rights and questioned the officer of the reason for your detention, and witness the reaction from the police?
      When seconds count, call the police. They will be there in a couple of minutes.
      Police are useful tools. Just like brownshirts and purpleshirts.

      Report Post » mallsniper  
    • ChrisBalsz
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:56pm

      Yeah, I’m inclined to agree with this judge. Just how often do prosecutors imagine folks scuffle with cops? If this guy doesn’t slug somebody in 90 days, problem solved? Why have 90 day probation for a crime of violence? I dont‘ think that’s sensible.

      Report Post »  
    • RONALDREAGAN1980
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:59pm

      Mallsniper- I hope no policeman you ever call reads what you wrote, although most are decent humans who would not hold that against you while they help you. To insult all police like that, the people who keep you safe while you eat and sleep and watch tv is very sad. Try this on for size… next time you need an officer of the law, i mean really need one, like your family is in danger… just don’t call them. That way you can truly demonstrate your disdain for them. It’s never too late to get help. Talk to a friend or a loved one. Learn to listen. It’s not a sign of weakness to get professional help. Just be realistic– you aren’t going to get better in 1 or 2 sessions. You didn’t get this way overnight, and you aren’t going to get better overnight. Something isn’t right, and you know it. You can keep on doing what you are doing, or you can get some help and get better.

      Report Post » RONALDREAGAN1980  
  • Highland
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:40pm

    This is why we shouldn’t be electing judges, especially in an all-Democrat town like Pittsburgh.

    Report Post » Highland  
  • Ashrak
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:40pm

    He must lose his job, just like IMUS did!

    Report Post » Ashrak  
  • nono524
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:39pm

    What a mess we have made of our country!

    Report Post » nono524  
  • TrueGrit
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:38pm

    Folks…
    does this really surprise any of you ?

    Report Post »  
  • cbs71
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:35pm

    Register to vote.
    T.E.A. Party + GOP = LOVE 4 EVER.
    Join your local 9 12.
    Remember 828, United we stand.
    God Bless America.

    Report Post » cbs71  
  • RightUnite
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:34pm

    This idiot needs to step down.

    Report Post »  
  • corgiacres
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:34pm

    Post racial atmosphere, huh?

    Report Post »  
  • Awakenow
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:33pm

    We must insist on Equal Justice and remove anyone who thinks otherwise.

    Report Post » Awakenow  
  • CoFX
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:33pm

    Calling Al Sharpton – you have a plane to catch to PA. This will end up being about how white judges treat minority defendants unfairly, and Judge Williams was brave and responsible in bringing this horribly racist issue to the attention of the public. Get ready for the thite judges in this county to soon be under scrutiny – there will be no personal accountability for Williams. Just a hunch.

    Report Post » Rogue  
  • capitalismrocks
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:31pm

    That’s just wonderful, so while we’ve worked so many decades for racial tolerance, we are seeing more and more reverse racism. Same thing with gays, for the most people – society treats them with respect so they no longer have to cower and hide, so what do they do with this new found freedom? Attack Catholic’s and “Hetero’s” openly…

    You would hope, that those who were the receivers of racism, bias and hate would in turn realize how bad it was against them, and rise above it all and not do it back at others…

    Sad sad sad…

    Report Post » capitalismrocks  
    • GardenoftheGods
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 8:56pm

      I’ve got to agree…it’s like “Hey, I’m on top now!“ instead of ”Justice is blind & equality for all”. Make me sick. Nothing is going to change in this country until we truly become COLOR-BLIND.

      Report Post » GardenoftheGods  
  • orkydorky
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:30pm

    As a white guy, I know justice is supposed to be blind, and sometimes there is no justice, but deciding cases on the color of one’s skin or where and how he is raised is just wrong. It sounds as though the problem lyes with the prosecutor and not the judge although he might be swayed by the upbringing factor. The judge did recuse himself.

    Report Post » orkydorky  
    • Mikee T
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:58pm

      Frankly I’m a little sick of the “recuse” excuse……Kagan’s getting away with it far too much in lieu of exposing herself as a blatant progressive liberal wacko…….. Stand and deliver people, stand and deliver…… Speak your mind and live by it……something liberals know nothing of……they lie so much they can never admit to anything because it would expose them as the very devils that they are.

      Report Post »  
  • prism of reality
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:29pm

    Actually, I think with the 2 pts brought up in the article (no re-trial and no leniency) he seems pretty level headed to me.

    Report Post »  
    • Prospero
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:00pm

      If you take a few English comprehension classes, you’ll learn to assess an article within its context. It’s not about what he advocated, but why he advocated it.

      Report Post » Prospero  
    • Marylou7
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:06pm

      But did you read the remainder of his remarks concerning the retrial? He stated that the jury probably didn’t understand what a bad life the defendent had, BULL. Does he actually think whites don’t have problems. The judge needs to grown up and get into the real world.

      Report Post » Marylou7  
  • Prospero
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:29pm

    “a black defendant in the same situation would not have been treated as leniently.” Williams made the comments after a … proposed three months of probation for a white man with no criminal record”

    The next time a black defendant, after scuffling with police, is found to have no criminal record….perhaps a comparison can be made.

    FBI Unified Crime Statistics don’t lie. If there is any leniency in our court systems, it benefits blacks, who are statistically under-represented in our prison system based on the volume of crimes they commit.

    Report Post » Prospero  
    • prism of reality
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:38pm

      Actually, if you take a few stats courses, you will find out that they lie all of the time. Garbage in- Garbage out does not only apply to computers. And unfortunately, there are a disproportionate # of blacks in Prison. I, for one, am tired of leniency period. Slap them upside the head. You have to understand that a lot of the crap going on is class, not race based.

      Report Post »  
    • Prospero
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:47pm

      Prism writes: “Actually, if you take a few stats courses”

      Prism writes: “there are a disproportionate # of blacks in Prison.”

      No, there are not. Blacks represent 14% of the population, and are responsible for roughly 55% of all violent crime, and roughly 70% of all violent crime involving another minority.

      They do not comprise 55% of the prison population.

      If you take a few statistics courses, you will learn how to properly assign proportionality.

      Report Post » Prospero  
    • Prospero
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:49pm

      “You have to understand that a lot of the crap going on is class, not race based.”

      It’s unclear that “white boy” refers to a discernable class….

      Report Post » Prospero  
  • shotgun
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:28pm

    The judge should be disbarred for having such bias.
    We all hurt no matter what color we are. There is no other color to blame. sorry.

    Report Post » shotgun  
    • wingedwolf
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:55pm

      He should be disbarred for making that observation in open court. If he had a problem or a question about the sentence and the color of the defendant, it is perfectly acceptable for him to go into chambers with the parties and discuss that. He could have continued the case until he had statistics regarding how many whites and blacks in the same kinds of cases with the same kinds of previous records were offered such plea deals, and stated his thoughts on that on the record. The fact that he said what he said where he said it leads me to believe that what he said was intentional and meant to cause controversy. Perhaps he has an “in” with Eric Holder, who may be egging judges on in these reverse discrimination cases. Somebody is certainly thumbing their nose at something.

      Report Post » wingedwolf  
  • Hugh Williams
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:27pm

    Thank God Obama has given us a post racial country.

    Report Post » Hugh Williams  
  • FSUDAVE
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:26pm

    I saw a conference on CSPAN during the Harlem book series. There was a black guy that used to be a Federal judge that said that all blacks on juries should use nullification to get any black charged with a crime a “ not guilty ” decision , no matter what the charge was.

    Report Post »  
  • gotea
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:24pm

    Justice is blind huh? Note to self…need new judge in Pittsburgh….Obama will appoint him to the Supreme Court soon.

    Report Post » gotea  
    • Eagle07
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:51pm

      He will be the new justice czar this way he won’t have to go before congress.

      Report Post »  
  • lihartke
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:23pm

    If the prosecutor is asking for different pleas for the same crime and history then I’d say the judge is right. Justice is supposed to be blind. If he denied a new trial for the black man because the jury was white then that just proves that he’s not racist otherwise, wouldn’t he have approved a new trial?

    Report Post » lihartke  
    • SummerB
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:47pm

      I totally agree. The plea bargains for both blacks & whites should be the same. If there not, then it’s the prosecutors that are racist. Denying a re-trail for a black man based on an all-white jury shows that he is not racist.

      Report Post »  
    • Farmhand
      Posted on October 7, 2010 at 5:26pm

      But then the judge should have taken this up and gone after the DA, not taken it out on the guy getting the plea deal.

      Report Post » Farmhand  
  • Contrarianthinker
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:22pm

    I wonder when Obama will step in and support the black judge?

    Report Post »  
    • Handsome Pete
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:39pm

      I can hear him now… “Now… uh… I don’t know all the facts. But I believe that Catanzarite acted stupidly!”

      Report Post » Handsome Pete  
    • jbhansen
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:58pm

      Then he’d invite them all over for a beer and photo op on the white house lawn.

      Report Post »  
  • I SPY
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:22pm

    The Shaft !

    Report Post » I SPY  
  • ALLRight
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:21pm

    I am so tired of it being about color. And I am tired of having warning to be on the look out for criminals and not knowing what their color is. I am tired of idiots.

    Report Post »  
    • SnapTie
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:54pm

      You should come to Arizona. Everybody here that is white is racist. And the Arizona Republic newspaper is helping spew the B.S.

      SnapTie  
    • Mikee T
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:41pm

      Bull…….. Every black on the east coast has a vendetta against whites even though whites have had to “tolerate” affirmative action for 30 years ??? Leave Arizonians alone….Enough is enough…… I know a few black conservatives but you know what ? Most of the reasonable black men and women I know did not grow up in this country…..how’s that grab you ? What’s that tell you about abusing the system here in the states under the auspices of “Racial Equality”….it‘s a lot of crap and it’s time to stop the bull..and as long as black people in this country allow people like Sharpton and Jesse Jackson represent them…….it won’t ever get any better……they don’t want to empower people of their culture……..they want to make them dependent on government and line their own pockets….

      Report Post »  
    • commonsensewins
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:47pm

      Snaptie,
      “Everybody here that is white is racist”? Doesnt that sound like a bit of an overgeneralization? I have a lot of friends in Arizona, including hispanic friends. No one I talk to there dislikes hispanics. They just want people to enter LEGALLY. Its not that they dont want them to enter. Try to look at the issues instead of get defensive about race.

      Report Post »  
  • Ahcma
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:19pm

    Goes to show how there are racists on the black side. Some words speak louder than actions as to the real intent. Listen to what people actually say, not by actions they proclaim they are.

    Report Post »  
  • missy8s
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:19pm

    This is the epitome of judicial bias, this judge should be fired AND disbarred for official misconduct and abuse of power.

    No ifs ands or buts.

    He must go!

    Report Post » missy8s  
    • klstj
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:43pm

      I’m with you. This is on par with the department of justice and the black panther voter intimidation scenario. How can you have equality when your legal system bases its decisions on your color. This is a mockery and is not right. Whatever the color of your skin, when you are responsible for applying law, you unquestionably must be color blind.

      Report Post »  
    • RWA
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:51pm

      Agreed

      Report Post »  
    • ron weiss
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:55pm

      Hey, let’s not jump to conclusions. If the judge is correct that blacks do not get these kind of deals from the prosecutor, then how is the judge racist? Seems we need a lot more info before deciding that a judge has to go.

       
    • stumblebum
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:10pm

      I wonder how many of the whites previously sentenced by this judge will appeal their sentences! I damn sure would. Wow, how race relations have improved in the age of Obama.

      Report Post » stumblebum  
    • vic138
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:21pm

      Maybe he’s looking for a job in the obama/holder doj?

      Report Post » vic138  
    • Taquoshi
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:28pm

      To Ron,

      Regardless of the judge’s thoughts or feelings on this matter, the plea deal was worked out by the arresting officer, the defendant and probably the defendant’s lawyer. Overturning a plea deal based on the defendant’s race because the judge “thought” a defendant of a different race would not have gotten the same “deal” is a major miscarriage of justice. The entire purpose of a plea deal is to circumvent a decision by the judge or jury.

      The judge showed his agenda, which right, wrong or otherwise, he had no business doing. Had the case come to him for judgement with out a plea deal, he then would have had the right to render a sentence. However, I suspect had that actually happened and he justified his sentence in the same manner, he’d be up for disbarment and the case would be appealed.

      As it is, he might be on his way to judicial review even as I type. And with that attitude, he might really need disbarment or at least be removed from the bench.

      Report Post » Taquoshi  
    • RONALDREAGAN1980
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:41pm

      Taquoshi- Actually, the plea bargains seldom involve the arresting officer, although they strongly involve the district attorney’s office. If the arresting officer ever had any input, there would probably never be any plea deals at all. Hmmm, maybe we should change things to your way after all.

      Report Post » RONALDREAGAN1980  
    • josie
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:42pm

      I agree, why is he still sitting on the bencb, he’s a disgrace to all races and should be FIRED

      Report Post »  
    • CatB
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 7:54pm

      I agree can you imagine if a WHITE JUDGE said anything close to this … he would be gone before sunset!

      Report Post »  
    • Taquoshi
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 9:53pm

      I’d just like to clarify that I read an account of the incident on Drudge, and that report included the following statement.

      “On Tuesday, Mike Manko, a spokesman for the district attorney’s office, told the Tribune-Review the plea deal was appropriate and agreed to by the officer, who was not injured.”

      http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39536917/ns/us_news/

      I took that to mean that the arresting officer agreed to the plea deal and therefore was in on the negotiations, Ronald Reagan 1980. I may have misunderstood that statement.

      Report Post » Taquoshi  
    • FireTheLeft
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 10:09pm

      DB Cooper: your post makes little sense… Crackers are White Southern Racist… and it is “their hair”… and why would a white racist try to win an argument by yelling “racist”????

      Report Post »  
  • The_Truth
    Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:17pm

    Always about color, Crayloa would be proud

    Report Post »  
    • scootydoo
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 1:21pm

      lol, crayola would be proud, now that is funny. Justice may be blind but she sure can smell those white boys in the courtroom, they smell like vanilla I’m told.

      scootydoo  
    • BetterDays
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:02pm

      little known “color” fact, White is the presense of all colors, Black the absense of colors. Therefor White people are more “colored” than Black people. Perhaps The judge from westren Pennsylvania (having grown up in NW PA. I know that the legal system is really messed up, mostly by Unions and Judges being for sale) need to attend CMU ( Carneghigie Mellon University) and get a degree in Fine art so He can properly adjudicate “colors”.
      Also, I thought justice was supposed to be blind?
      Vote conservitive!

      Report Post »  
    • Dustyluv
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:10pm

      When will everyone get over skin color? It’s a pigment or lack thereof. This is just past the sign that says “STUPID”!

      MLK JR…Content of Charachter…NOT the color of one’s skin is the measure we use!!!!

      Report Post »  
    • Chet Hempstead
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:19pm

      Um, BETTERDAYS, I guess you never noticed this, but white people aren’t actually white, and black people aren’t really black.

      Report Post »  
    • RONALDREAGAN1980
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:43pm

      Betterdays- methinks someone needs to go back to 3rd grade science class to understand the physics of color. The apparent color of an object is usually* and primarily a function of the spectra of light which it reflects (the other spectra being absorbed). Hence, an object which appears white, is reflecting all spectra of light, whereas an object which appears black is absorbing all spectra of light and reflecting none. Your statement “White is the presense of all colors, Black the absense of colors” is not quite accurate, because you are confusing color with light. Consider if you went to your local sherwin williams, and mixed all the paint colors together. Would the resultant color be white? No. Your statement could be made correct if you incorporated some basic scientific principals to instead say, “An object that appears white reflects all the colors of light, and an object that appears black absorbs all the colors of light.” What this corrected version does to your conclusion, “Therefor White people are more “colored” than Black people” is to demonstrate that once again, someone in the Tea Party pretending to be smart is actually, well, not so much. *This does not inlude those objects which emit light on their own, nor take into account the effects of perception. Just trying to keep it simple here.

      RONALDREAGAN1980  
    • SeasonOfChange
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:48pm

      It is truly astonishing that racial minorities don’t even understand the harm they do to their own cause with behavior like this. It is so absurd! If crimes in his court are disproportionate for whites vs. blacks that is one thing but don’t take it out on a guy with a clean record and a first offense. There is a sense of propriety that seems to get lost a lot in today’s society. I know our country has a messed up past, but that is part of what makes us so great, we got through it, we are still getting through it. Comments and actions like this just take us 30 years backwards. I believe that if a judge is proven to hold bias in his judgements then he should no longer be in a position to judge. Justice has to be blind, that is the only way it works.

      Report Post »  
    • BetterDays
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:54pm

      actually I comment on that all the time, that there are no “black or white” people. Frankly I believe that color arguments are insipid tripe.

      Report Post »  
    • sarnold51
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 2:54pm

      DUSTYLUV

      MLK JR…Content of Charachter…NOT the color of one’s skin is the measure we use!!!!

      Liberals always ignore that this was what MLK was really all about.

      Report Post » sarnold51  
    • Marks1956f100
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:04pm

      Again and again it seems to be the black people that forget what MLK’s speech was all about. As stated many times above it’s your character not your color that is the person…….

      Report Post »  
    • Mirac777
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:08pm

      Exactly. This man being a Judge should know better than to make racist statements from the bench. Also no prior convictions makes this a perfect plea case.Of course this Judge would want a black person with 43 priors to get a plea deal too it would seem. The law is the law, and if you want to administer it by race , you need to be impeached, period.

      Report Post »  
    • Bahemut80
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:37pm

      lol i agree with Ronald on that little color vs light statement. lol in dealing with “color” white is the absences of pigment…meaning the least colored of all.

      that arguement was “Shot downnnn….in (theblaze.com) of GLORRYYYY!!!!”

      Report Post »  
    • Alvin691
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 3:44pm

      Betterdays? You have that backwards. The pigment black is the presence of all colors and white is the absence. Now the visible spectrum is opposite. White light is all and black (darkness) is the absence of light. Thanks for making me look smart today. I needed one.

      Report Post »  
    • FromtheBasement
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 4:14pm

      Just to add even more unnecessarily color bits that are actually unrelated to this article, both Betterdays and RonaldReagan1980 are right, depending on whether you’re following additive color synthesis (Betterday’s argument) or subtractive color synthesis (RonaldReagan1980′s argument). ;-)

      Report Post » FromtheBasement  
    • Ironmaan
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 4:18pm

      Of course it’s about color. It’s always about color. They will never let color be removed from the discussion. Their entitlement lifestyle requires it. They are cowards afraid to stand on their own two feet without assistance from the state. Without a “racist” society it’s not quite as easy to loot from the producers in society be they white or black.

      Report Post »  
    • Noonien_Soong
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 4:20pm

      Just wondering, The defense lawyer could have said “based on my client’s content of character”, would the judge accept the plea?
      Oops, the judge recused himself and another accepted the plea.

      Report Post » Noonien_Soong  
    • Areyoukiddingme
      Posted on October 6, 2010 at 6:06pm

      Rasist and should be fired.

      Report Post » Areyoukiddingme  
    • Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Czar
      Posted on October 7, 2010 at 3:22am

      “I’m just telling you what my observation is. If this had been a black kid who did the same thing, we wouldn‘t be talking about three months’ probation,” the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review”
      ___________

      Well that shouldn’t be to hard to prove in court. There are government statistics that cold back up his claim. Being a Judge, I bet he even has access to them.

      Report Post » Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Czar  
    • claymoremacm
      Posted on October 7, 2010 at 5:55pm

      Guess he was calling a spade a spade

      Report Post » claymoremacm  

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