Yesterday, in The Discources we talked about alternative sentencing in criminal cases as a means of either deterrent (word of mouth gets around so probable future offenders are more apt to tread cautiously) or as punishment. By the pained looks on the faces of these offenders, I’d say this judge is on to something.

Reporting from Fort Lupton, Colo.—The guiding principle in Municipal Judge Paul Sacco’s courtroom is an eye for an eye. Or rather, an ear for an ear.

So when teenagers land in front of him for blasting their car stereos or otherwise disturbing the peace in this small northern Colorado city, Sacco informs them that they will spend a Friday evening in his courtroom listening to music—of his choosing.


No, they can’t pay a fine instead, he tells them. So, he adds with a snicker, ever heard of Barry Manilow?

For the last decade, Sacco, 55, has administered a brand of justice somewhere between “cruel” and “unusual.”

Incidentally, to the super admin. guys, this would make a great theme for a “Hey Mr. DJ” segment (if you were the judge, what songs would you make these kids listen to), but back to the topic.

This is another one of my pet peaves. It’s possible that the boneheads practicing this form of torture on the rest of us are deaf (a clear side effect when playing rap music, I said ,“did you hear that MW?” ) but I think a more likely explanation, they just don’t give a fig about anybody else’s eardrums.

For a while, Sacco—a part-time judge who also has a law practice—issued tickets, $95 apiece, to the noise violators. But one day, as he ordered a teenager to pay a fine, he realized the kid’s parents, flanking him, would probably just pay it for him.

“It just seemed I was a rubber-stamper,” he said. “I hate that.”

So he did a little thinking outside the box, bravo.

I appreciate the thought process here, but I’m wondering how this goes off with the judicial board. First off, I can see some whinny bulldozed parent complaining about the unorthodoxed approach ,“This isn’t fair, Timmy usually gets wasted and diddles his girlfriend on Friday nights”. Or, some heat being generated by the peanut counters who rely on that dough to pay the bills.

The irony should also be savored here, American citizens get treated worse that captured terrorists who plot our demise. To think that Obama would sick his attack dog on a CIA or CID agent who used the same tactics on a AQ goon where actual lives might be saved in the process, then haul said agent up on charges ,“excuse me sir, but I present you with a spanking new copy of the Army field Manual, can you please flip to the section where it authorizes the playing of music in front of AQ terrorists?”

The program’s recidivism rate is less than 5%; once subjected to a night in City Hall, the offenders rarely return. Interestingly, the offense rate also seems to have plummeted recently, Cade said. Sacco sentenced 56 people to music in 2007; by 2008, that number had dropped to 20.

Sounds like it is working, but how bad could it really be?

“They know I like them and care about them,” said Sacco, although he did once make the offenders listen to a song he wrote and performed.

Methinks this was probably that proverbial straw with the camel.

The program has been going on for 10 years now. As they say, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, but 1 hour seems lightweight to me. I could come up with a 2 hour “slit your wrist” mix guaranteed to promote a 0% recidivism rate, and I might actually win a DJ contest in the process, victories anywhere I can get them.