Judge Fired for Issuing Arrest Warrant: One DVD and a wrong address

[Tiassa]

James Kimmel. No, not late night host Jimmy Kimmel, although this sounds like the sort of hack comedy routine you might expect of a talk-show comedian. Judge James Kimmel, of Littleton, Colorado.

The Associated Press reports:

A longtime Colorado judge has been fired after issuing an arrest warrant for a teenager over an overdue library DVD.

Municipal Judge James Kimmel issued the warrant after 19-year-old Aaron Henson failed to show up in court Jan. 14 over the overdue DVD, "House of Flying Daggers." On Jan. 25, police stoped the teen for speeding and held him for nearly eight hours after discovering the warrant.

Henson had moved and didn't received the summons to court. The teen said he had packed the DVD in a box, and returned it about a week before Henson issued the warrant. The library notified the judge the DVD was back.​

Last week, the Littleton City Council fired the judge, who had served for nearly thirty years. One wonders if this was the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back. I mean, if this is the first time Judge Kimmel has overstated the point, as such, wouldn't this sort of disciplinary action be just a bit harsh, at least in terms relative to what else goes on in American courts?
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Notes:

Associated Press. "Colo. judge fired over teen arrest for overdue DVD". The Olympian. April 8, 2010. TheOlympian.com. April 12, 2010. http://www.theolympian.com/2010/04/08/1199474/colo-judge-fired-over-teen-arrest.html

 

[Giambattista]

Well, it's about time the law was meted out to the law! Every once in awhile, the overzealous persecutors get a taste of their own medicine.

It's the little things like this that make life somewhat worth tolerating.

 

[Tiassa]

If it wasn't such a small thing

It's the little things like this that make life somewhat worth tolerating.

I just wish it wasn't over something so petty.

Like one time, in Oregon, a friend of mine got a ticket for not wearing his set belt ... while he was wearing his seat belt. Naturally, he protested the ticket in court. The judge's ruling was that it was not to him to doubt the word of a police officer. Petty, yes, but that judge essentially threw out the Fourteenth Amendment in order to make a traffic ticket stick. Isn't that exactly the opposite of the oaths judges take to uphold the Constitution?

But it's a little thing, you know, so who the hell is going to spend thousands of dollars on a lawyer to take down an idiot judge, especially with such low odds of success?

I'm wondering if, in the Littleton case, Judge Kimmel has some sort of problematic history, and the council simply took the opportunity to cut him loose.

Then again, marathons are won step by step.

 

[BlueRidge]

Bench warrants are SOP for failure to appear. The judge likely followed routine practice. The subsequent arrest was equally SOP. The problem wasn't the judge, the cops, or the system. It boils down to the plaintiff who sought compensation and justice over a $5 disk. In this case, the library, decided enough was enough with their shelves being stripped bare by irresponsible people who don't give a crap about anything but self. And if the dumb kid hadn't been speeding anyway, he'd never been caught. The warrant would have expired in 10 years or less, case dismissed. They tried to make an example of junior and it backfired due to public pressure. And anyone wonders why things costs so much. Just return the f'king dvd like you're suppose to, and none of this will ever happen.

 

[Giambattista]

I just wish it wasn't over something so petty.

Agreed, but like the example you gave of the seat belt ticket, at least it was in the other direction this time.

I'm wondering if, in the Littleton case, Judge Kimmel has some sort of problematic history, and the council simply took the opportunity to cut him loose.

Or someone didn't like him, politically?

 

[dsdsds]

He shouldn't be fired for that. Annoying brat kid probably deserved it anyway. ... and isn't one "summoned" in person?

 

[Neverfly]

Summons are often issued by mail.

A constable will deliver summons in person for only high end cases, civil or lawsuits.

The "dumb" kid committed one of the worst crimes in history-- The Overdue Library Book (DVD).
Sheesh.

Should the judge have been fired on that alone? I think not. Probably, there was another or series of other issues with him.