Respect

You would think that ‘Respect should be given to women who have been raped’ and yet two New Jersey judges seemed to forget that maxim.

Per NJSpotLight, “New Jersey judges have drawn fire recently for making “insensitive” comments about sexual assault victims. Now the state Supreme Court has stepped in with rare actions and an initiative to better prepare judges for such cases.

New Jersey Supreme Court Chief Justice Stuart Rabner issued an order yesterday removing longtime state Family Court Judge James Troiano from the bench, at the latter’s own request, after inflammatory comments he made regarding a sexual assault case became national news. (Troiano retired in 2012 but continued part-time to hear cases in Monmouth County.)

Also, on Wednesday, the high court entered an order for removal from office of Superior Court Judge John Russo Jr., who in a 2016 case suggested an alleged rape victim should “close her legs.”

These actions were notable in themselves. Maybe more lasting, the court initiated a new training regimen for all Superior Court judges concerning the treatment of sexual assault victims and other victims of violence.

Yesterday when the NJ Supreme Court finally acted on two cases of inappropriate actions by Judges Troiano and Russo, the court did what politicians and the public have been calling for.

Per InsiderNJ, “Troiano had made comments during a rape trial in which he said the defendant ‘comes from a good family who put him in an excellent school where he was doing extremely well’ and rejected an attempt to try the defendant as an adult.  His comments caused widespread outrage and demands for his removal from the bench grew over the past few weeks by legislators and members of the public.

So these two twits seem to have no common sense, either that or they hate women. The comment that a rape victim should ‘close her legs’ to prevent a rape is just ridiculous. And the other judge taking into account that the defendant ‘comes from a good family’ is something that seems to come right out of the 1950s. I am glad that Chief Justice Rabner has had the good sense to act the way he did and also made sure that this will not happen again by implementing a new training program on the treatment of sexual assault victims.

Why these men do not understand that those who commit sexual assault (rape) hate women and have little to no respect for them. All of us need to be more sensitive about those who have been assaulted, be they men or women or of a neutral gender. Remember this if nothing else- ‘Respect should be given as a matter of the mutual civility we should hold for each other.’ Notice I did not say love, but instead respect. For it is better not like someone and yet still have respect for them for who they are. Rather than love them and reject who they are.

That is my opinion- Jumpin Jersey Mike

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