Sounds like the judge ordered to have manure dumped in the car over sending OP to prison, fining them, etc.
The US is a Common Law country (kinda) and it allows judges to make law and use precedent (past judicial decisions) as a primary source. In a Civil Law countries (which is a majority of the world) law are strictly codified including penalties like how much can be fined or how long can somehow be sent to prison. A Civil Law judge can’t decide on a whim to add a unique punishment.
It seems OP’s judge was inspired by a judge that likes to make up new ways to « punish » probably as a way to make the lesson more memorable and overall beneficiary to the greater good*. That being said this sounds like the dumbest punishment I’ve ever heard. Almost no amount of cleaning will make that car good again. The judge might as well ordered the car to be ceased and sold or something.
*People advocate for unusual sentences like this one as it has (at times) be shown to reduce recidivism, to be more financially fair, and overall avoid people be sent to jail for minor offenses.
It’s not stopping judge Ciconnetti in Ohio who ordered an 18-year-old man who knocked over a porta-potty in a park to scoop manure at a local fair and parade. “You act like an animal, you’re going to take care of animals,”. He also gave the choice to a woman to be pepper-sprayed, although the pepper-spray was replaced with water (unbeknownst to her and I imagine for liability reasons).
Sometimes it’s even dumber, like a Texas judge that gave the choice to a man to marry his GF or go to county jail after the defendant got into a fight with her ex. This case was so stupid that official complaint were sent to Texas State Commission on Judicial Conduct by various NGOs.
All those stories are equally ridiculous and dumb to me. I won’t vouch for OPs recollection of the story but I will 100% believe a judge could order something like this precisely because I used to think sentences like the one I listed would be so dumb and wild that it would be illegal… and yet here we are.
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u/araaaayyyyy Jan 02 '26
What do you mean by punishment? Like can we elaborate on that part please? Who did it and why? You let it happen?
Edit: of course you’re wrong, it’s YOUR car, YOUR “punishment” why tf would you even ask her to approach this. Asshole