JUDGE CRITICIZED FOR SENTENCING LECTURE

Being a judge does not mean that you are very bright. United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin Rudolph T. Randa sentenced Jose Figueroa after a drug trial in which he was found guilty of distribution of cocaine and conspiracy to sell cocaine to 235 months in prison. However it was not the sentence that causes Randa to have his IQ questioned. After all, believe it or not, 235 months was the bottom of Figueroa’s guidelines. But it is some of the things Randa said at sentencing that got him criticized by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals.

Not only did the judge question Figueroa’s Mexican heritage but he questioned Figueroa’s immigration status, as well as that of his wife and three sisters. He brought up unnecessary references to Hugo Chávez, Iranian terrorists, and Adolf Hitler’s dog. He told Figueroa that he ought to be happy that he is doing time in an American jail instead of in Mexico or Turkey. He should also be glad, according to Randa, that he is not in Thailand or Malaysia where he could be sentenced to death. He claimed that American have a greater respect for the rule of law than in some other countries including Mexico.

You guessed it. The Seventh Circuit remanded the case for resentencing with a different judge.