Alabama judge stands up for law and justice is fired (al.com)

By John Archibald | jarchibald@al.com
Email the author | Follow on Twitter
on November 22, 2016 at 6:48 AM, updated November 22, 2016 at 2:37 PM

Two Alabama judges facing one daunting problem.

Two different men who made different choices.

It's downright literary. How one chose right. And one chose wrong, but both were punished.

Armstead Lester Hayes III, presiding judge of Montgomery's municipal court, chose wrong. He scratched through defendants like lottery tickets, heaving them into jail when they couldn't pay absurdly escalating fines on routine traffic tickets.
***
And then there's Philip Sanchez IV, municipal judge – now former judge – in Monroeville. He resisted a city clerk who argued municipal court should live on fees and fines alone and should "bring in the revenue to support its expenses." He challenged council members and a mayor who wanted to examine old tickets to understand why the courts needed money at all.
***
more: http://www.al.com/opinion/index.ssf/2016/11/judge_stands_up_for_law_and_ju.html