A Judge Tried to Get Out of Jury Duty, by Saying He Believed “All Defendants Are Guilty”

Many people don’t like jury duty, and some are even willing to SAY THINGS THEY SHOULDN’T just to get out of it.  Even JUDGES.

A judge in upstate New York was just forced to resign, after he made some wild statements during a jury screening process, where HE was a prospective juror.

His name is Richard T. Snyder.  In court transcripts, he said he was a judge, but that he could NOT be impartial.  He said, “I know everybody that comes in front of me . . . they’re guilty . . . they would not be in front of me [if they were innocent].” 

He was asked again if he could set any preconceived notions aside, and he responded, “No.  It would not be fair.”

Naturally, he was dismissed from the case.  But the judge in THAT case reported him to state officials.

A judicial commission interviewed him, and Richard said, he “understood that defendants are supposed to be considered innocent until proven guilty . . . but that he still felt that people wouldn’t be in court if they didn’t commit crimes.”

He said his interpretation of “innocent until proven guilty” was that guilty people were brought to court to have it be made official, and get sentenced.  (???)

Richard was forced to resign, and agree to never serve as a judge again.  He was elected a decade ago, and was not a lawyer before.

A state official said, “It is bad enough that a judge would seek to avoid such a fundamental civic responsibility as jury service.  It is astounding that the judge would claim an inability to be impartial, and to declare, under oath, that the accused must be guilty or they would not be in court.”

(AP News)