Courts

Defendant Strapped Into Hannibal Lecter Mask After Attacking Judge

The seriousness of attacking a judge doesn't require blowing it out of proportion.

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When Deobra Redden went absolute top shelf to attack Clark County Judge Mary Kay Holthus, two things were obvious: (a) he probably wasn’t going to get that probation sentence he wanted and (b) the court wasn’t going to take any chances the next time he showed up.

But I don’t think anyone expected this.

Wouldn’t one of those leg chains attached to a cannonball from the old Looney Tunes do a better job? Those foam MegaMan gauntlets are great and all, but the mission should be less about debuffing his punches and more about keeping him grounded. Put magnets in his shoes… assuming you can keep them dry. But seriously, was this get up really necessary based on what he actually did? It comes across as empty spectacle.

His appearance before the same judge that he attacked picked up right where she’d left off, with the judge imposing a 19- to 48-month sentence based on the original attempted battery with substantial bodily harm charge that he’d pleaded to.

From the Las Vegas Review-Journal:

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“I want to make it clear that I am not changing or modifying the sentence I was in the process of imposing last week before I was interrupted by the defendant’s actions,” Holthus said.

That still seems like a lot for attempted battery. According to the record, he threatened to bust someone’s kneecaps which doesn’t feel like a possible four-year prison sentence.

Jumping over a bench to pummel a judge on the other hand…

That case is in its infancy, but prosecutors have charged Redden with attempted murder, battery on a protected person, and extortion. Really? Attempted murder? Are the gauntlets on there because his hands are deadly weapons?

Battery on a protected person carries a 10-year max sentence if the defendant was in “lawful custody” at the time. Does pre-sentence release fit that description? If so that seems to afford more than adequate.

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Does everything have to be overcharged to the hilt? He tried to beat up a judge, which is absolutely a serious crime but it’s also NOT attempted murder unless there’s a lot more here than revealed so far. The fact that the only injuries sustained in the incident were the result of the marshal tripping while trying to respond to the attack tends to confirm how non-deadly this was. Just charge the guy with what he actually did. It’s bad enough!

But it’s just like the Hannibal mask: everything has to be performatively pushed to the absolute limit.

Earlier: Defendant Leaps Over Bench To Attack Judge, Gets Pummeled By Law Clerk

HeadshotJoe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

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