Now I know this has nothing to do with cars or consumer law, but I got this from a friend and I just couldn't help but pass it on, just for the sheer fun of it. Judge Gregory Todd, in the Montana 13th Judicial District Court, Yellowstone County, Montana, filed this sentencing memorandum in court on February 26, 2007 in the case of State of Montana vs Andrew Scott McCormack, Cause No. DC 06-0323 (this is the actual text, including his emphasis in bold face print in the actual decision itself):
Mr. McCormack, you pled guilty to the charge of Burglary. To aid me in sentencing, I review the pre-sentence investigation report. I read with interest the section containing Defendant's statement. To the question of "Give your recommendation as to what you think the Court should do in this case," you said "Like the Beetles say, 'Let It Be' ". While I will not explore the epistemological or ontological overtones of your response, or even the syntactic or symbolic keys of your allusion, I will say Hey Jude, Do You Want to Know a Secret? The greatest band in rock history spelled their name B-E-A-T-L-E-S.
I interpret the meaning of your response to suggest that there should be no consequences for your actions and I should just Let It Be so that you could live in Strawberry Fields Forever. Such reasoning is Here, There and Everywhere. It does not require a Magical Mystery Tour of interpretation to know The Word means leave it alone. I trust we can all Come Together on that meaning. If I were to overlook your actions and Let It Be, I would ignore that Day in the Life on April 21, 2006. Evidently, earlier that night you said to yourself I Feel Fine while drinking beer. Later, whether you wanted Money or were just trying to Act Naturally, you became the Fool on the Hill on North 27th Street. As Mr. Moonlight at 1:30 a.m., you did not Think for Yourself but just focused on I, Me, Mine.
Because you didn't ask for Help, Wait for Something else, or listen to your conscience saying Honey Don't, the victim later that day was Fixing a Hole in the glass door you broke. After you stole the 18 pack of Old Milwaukee you decided it was time to Run for Your Life and Carry That Weight. But when the witness said Baby It's You, the police responded I'll Get You and you had to admit that You Really Got a Hold on Me. You were not able to Get Back home because of the Chains they put on you. Although you hope the police would say I Don't Want to Spoil the Party and We Can Work It Out, you were in Misery when they said you were a Bad Boy. When the police took you to jail you experienced Something New as they said Hello Goodbye and you became a Nowhere Man.
Later when you thought about what you did, you may have said I'll Cry Instead. Now you're saying Let It Be instead of I'm a Loser. As a result of your Hard Day's Night, you are looking at a Ticket to Ride that Long and Winding Road to Deer Lodge. Hopefully you can say both now and When I'm 64 that I Should Have Known Better.
Moral of the story: it doesn't pay to get smart with a judge - especially if you are facing jail time.
We can't help you out of jail (we don't do those kinds of cases), but we can help you out of a lemon new car, a lemon truck, or with other consumer law problems - as long as you don't have Judge Todd on your case, that is.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Known nationwide as a leading Lemon Law attorney, Ronald L. Burdge has represented literally thousands of consumers in "lemon" lawsuits and actively co-counsels and coaches other Consumer Law attorneys. From 2005 through 2018, attorney Ronald L. Burdge has been named as the only Lemon Law Ohio Super Lawyer by Law and Politics magazine and Thomson Reuters Corp., Professional Division. Burdge restricts his practice to Lemon Law and Consumer Law cases. The Ohio Super Lawyer results are published annually in the January issue of Cincinnati Magazine. Ronald L. Burdge was named Consumer Law Trial Lawyer of the Year 2004 by the National Association of Consumer Advocates, the nation's largest organization of consumer law private and government attorneys. "Your impact on the auto industry has been magnified many times over because of the trail you blazed for others," stated NACA's Executive Director, Will Ogburn. Burdge has represented thousands of consumers in Ohio, Kentucky and elsewhere since 1978 and is a frequent lecturer to national, state and local Bar Associations and Judicial organizations. Burdge is admitted to Ohio's state and federal courts, Kentucky's state courts, and Indiana's federal courts. Other court admissions are on a "pro hac" temporary, case by cases basis.