Supreme Court censures Va. Beach judge
November 5th, 2009 ·
November 5th, 2009 ·
Virginia Beach Juvenile & Domestic Relations Judge Ramona Taylor is censured by the Supreme Court of Virginia today for thwarting a juvenile defendant’s right to appeal the judge’s bond ruling.
In 2007, Taylor denied bond for a 15-year-old repeat offender who admitted assaulting a younger boy. Taylor then wrote in her bond order that the order was “non-appealable” and emphasized that language when the clerk inquired about the issue of appeal.
Noting that, under Virginia law, every bond decision is appealable, a five-member majority of the Supreme Court holds that Taylor violated the judicial canons when she acted to prevent an appeal of her order. “A judge may not prevent the appeal of his or her own decisions,” Justice LeRoy Millette wrote for the majority.
The defendant was in detention for 9 days until a circuit court ordered the matter appealed.
By Peter Vieth
2 comments:
This judge's behaviour was shameful. The sooner she leaves, the better.
I am familiar with this case and this child was not a repeat offender. This was a first time simple assault after school fight where neither child was injured...not even a band- aid was applied. To say she convicted a repeat offender is false information and misleading. The judge was censured and rightfully so. I find it ironic that she wants to appeal the VA Supreme Court since this is the exact right she intentionally kept this child's lawyer from pursuing in court.
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