The system failed Chad Ochocinco Johnson case.
Chad Ochocinco Johnson was obviously treated unfairly by the judge who was overhearing his probation violation hearing. There was a deal worked out that Chad would not go to jail for the violations of his terms of probation. His probation was extended with conditions, which is a long way from spending time in the slammer. That was fantastic news to him! When Mr. Johnson was in the hearing, he was asked the question “Are you happy with your lawyer?” Mr. Johnson’s reply was simply “He’s awesome” That is when Chad Johnson hit his lawyer on the butt just like athletes do every day. Football players, basketball players, coaches and athletes in most other sports do that as a symbol of camaraderie as well as a congratulatory gesture. He was congratulating his awesome lawyer who kept him out of jail!
What happened next created the firestorm in the courtroom. The audience, as well as the bailiff and other court personnel, were laughing when it happened. However, Mr. Johnson had a very stoic look on his face when the judge asked him why were people laughing. Quite simply, Mr. Johnson did not think much of it. He wasn’t laughing, he didn’t think it was funny, he was still very respectful of the court and she threw the book him. Ridiculous. It seemed the judge was more concerned about the audience’s reaction than anything Johnson did. It seems that if the audience did not laugh Chad Johnson would be free.
This judge should be ashamed of her behavior. We all know that she was on the national stage for her 15 minutes of fame and it was overshadowed with laughter in the courtroom. Instead of locking up Chad for 30 days, perhaps she should’ve charged the people laughing with contempt instead of punishing him. The laughter caused the commotion. The laughter created the atmosphere of a lack of seriousness in court. Not Chad Johnson. Shame on her and shame on the system for letting this happen.