Rant of the Day

RANT OF THE DAY

O.J. had his judge and prosecutors from the Car 54 side of the bar. A Florida judge auditioned and shed tears for his own television series while ruling on a child custody case and made an utter ass of himself.

Yesterday three sentences made no waves. A New Zealand judge gave an Oscar-winning special effects artist 90 minutes to make a $400 donation to the Salvation Army following a no-charge discharge for possession of ecstacy. "Because of your particular involvement in the film industry and the travel involved, I consider that the direct and indirect consequences of conviction would significantly outweigh the seriousness of the offence and the culpability involved."

Heaven forbid his career might suffer by not being able to travel to the U.S. because of a drug conviction.

In Aspen, Colorado, the prosecutor indignantly pointed out that a six-year-old - "who felt victimized for a long time" - appeared in one of 119 child pornography images that were so graphic that it made a seasoned investigator sick. And then the prosector and the legally-dancing judge sentenced the drama teacher to - probation. They had to backdate the plea agreement to make the child pornography a misdemeanor.

Pennyslvania is no slouch in punishing the guilty. A legislator got six months' house arrest for two felony convictions in a corruption scandal. Lucky for us, he will be allowed out of his house to go to church. We're willing to bet, though, that Frank LaGrotta would be repulsed by a courtroom of cheering "community members" who applauded a sentence of six months' probation for pictures of the rape of a six-year-old child.