Montana judge censured has recently been making headlines. According to rhrealitycheck.org, the Montana judge censured suggested that a 14-year-old rape victim was partly to blame for her attack. The judge reportedly sentenced the teacher to only 30 days in jail, and as such received a public reprimand from the Montana Supreme Court on Tuesday.
According to the Montana Supreme Court, they had the Montana judge censured and publicly reprimanded after giving a lenient sentence to a rapist, as well as suggesting that the 14-year-old victim had been partially responsible for the rape.
The Montana judge censured is District Judge G. Todd Baugh of Billings. He reportedly appeared before the court in Helena, where Court Chief Justice Mike McGrath read a prepared censure statement. According to reports, a censure is a rarely used public declaration by the high court when a judge is guilty of misconduct.
McGrath said in the statement over the Montana judge censured, 'We have determined that, through your inappropriate comments, you have eroded public confidence in the judiciary and created an appearance of impropriety in violation of the Montana Code of Judicial Conduct.'
According to the Associated Press, the Supreme Court has also suspended the Montana judge censured for 31 days, which became effective in December.
While Baugh reportedly receive the reprimand while standing at the podium, he did not speak. Baugh immediately left after the censure and did not answer questions from reporters.
rhrealitycheck.org reports that Baugh originally sentenced rapist Stacey Dean Rambold to 15 years in prison. However, the prison sentence was changed to 30 days last year after Rambold pleaded guilty to sexual intercourse without consent.
Rambold was a 47-year-old business teacher at Billings Senior High School during the 2007 rape. The victim was reportedly one of his students. She committed suicide shortly after the incident and while the case was still pending trial.
During the sentencing of Rambold, Baugh said the unusual order due to the fact that the victim "looked older than her chronological age." He suggested that the victim had been complicit in the crime committed against her, and added that the girl was "as much in control of the situation" as Rambold.
The AP reports that under state law, children below 16 cannot consent to sexual intercourse.
Because of his statement and sentencing in the case of Rambold, Baugh drew international attention and condemnation, and afterwards the event of Montana judge censured.
Baugh apologized for his remarks and tried to amend his sentence after the public outrage. He reportedly acknowledged that the short prison sentence violated state law. After he attempted to revise it, he was blocked as prosecutors appealed through protests and emergency filings in response to the sentencing deviation.
The Montana Supreme Court eventually intervened, and in April, they ordered a new sentencing hearing for the case and assigned the case to a different judge.
Rambold completed his original sentence last fall, reports the AP. He was registered as a sex offender and was to remain on probation through 2028.
In the new sentencing by District Judge Randal Spaulding of Roundup, the resentence to Rambold is rescheduled to Sept. 26.
In addition to Montana judge censured, the Montana Supreme Court reportedly also suspended Baugh for 31 days, effective in December. Baugh has also said he has plans of retiring at the end of his term in December.
President Marian Bradley of the Montana chapter of the National Organization for Women said she would like to see Baugh resign immediately but was still satisfied with the justices' decision of the judge's suspension.
She said, 'We believe their actions protect the women, children and families who live in the state and visit the state.'
Montana judge censured of late is reportedly not the only case of a Montana judge getting reprimanded for misconduct. In 2005, Montana District Judge Jeffrey Langton of Hamilton was also censured by the state Supreme Court was after pleading guilty to a drunken driving charge. He was placed on probation for violating the terms of his sentence.
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