Judge Young Traffic Offenses Were Concluded

           Today, the pending traffic offenses against Judge Young were concluded.  We did not contest a finding of guilt on the DUI charge in return for negotiated terms and conditions of his sentence.  Under circumstances comparable to Judge Young’s case, we would expect to negotiate similar treatment for anyone, no matter their station in life.  In fact, we routinely obtain such negotiated dispositions for others, and, on occasion, procure more lenient treatment from the State.  Simply stated, the penalties that Judge Young agreed to accept in return for a sentence of court supervision on his DUI ticket are in line with those received by most other first offenders.

            Judge Young accepted responsibility for his error in judgment despite my opinion, based upon pretrial discovery, that the charges could be successfully defended.  He did so because he felt that a protracted defense would be harmful to public confidence in the judiciary, harmful to his fellow St. Clair County judges, and harmful to the accident victim.  Moreover, he did not want to engage in a public quarrel about the opinion of any officer of the law, for members of law enforcement are people whose opinions and judgments he routinely values.  Finally, Judge Young accepted a finding of guilt because he has feelings of remorse over what has happened, and wants to avoid public perception that his position allowed him to escape the kind of justice most people must face for similarly charged misconduct.

Judge Young has not publicly addressed the circumstances about what happened.  His silence has been based on my advice.  As long as civil liability and judicial discipline still await disposition, Judge Young will not discuss the matter.  Accordingly, we have no further comment.