Bizarre, Courts, Lawyering

Former Judge Literally Dragged To Jail In Chaotic Courtroom Scene

Former juvenile court judge Tracie Hunter caused an extraordinary scene in a Cincinnati courtroom yesterday when she was literally dragged away to jail to serve a six-month sentence for improperly obtaining information for her brother to help in a job dispute. The video shows Hunter refusing to move and being dragged across the courtroom floor.

Hunter was the first African American elected to the juvenile court. The case stems from a controversy involving her brother, Stephen Hunter, who worked as a youth corrections officer. Stephen Hunter was accused of striking a young offender on the job on July 7, 2013 and his superior recommended termination. Tracie Hunter then demanded information on the young offender and gave the information to her brother.

She was convicted in 2014 but has been filing challenges and appeals. Those appeals have been exhausted and Hamilton County Common Pleas Judge Patrick Dinkelacker ordered her to be taken into custody. Hunter’s supporters erupted in anger. One was arrested in trying to fight her way to Hunter. That is when Hunter went limp and had to be dragged away.

Before being dragged off, Hunter declared “They need to drop these unrighteous and I believe unlawful charges against me.”

49 thoughts on “Former Judge Literally Dragged To Jail In Chaotic Courtroom Scene”

  1. The judge’s behavior here is awful. Juveniles are generally not represented well in the system, and now they have to worry about being spied on by a supposedly neutral judge. Some of the kids in the system are black. It strikes me if motivated by racial solidarity, supporting the judge is akin to supporting the most vulnerable.

  3. It didn’t stop there:

    https://vdare.com/posts/minority-occupation-turba-mob-goes-to-home-of-white-judge-who-sentenced-corrupt-black-female-judge
    https://vdare.com/letters/a-reader-says-white-prosecutor-shying-away-from-putting-corrupt-black-female-judge-in-prison-is-he-afraid-of-the-mob

    Her supporters demonstrated outside Judge Patrick Dinkelacker’s house.

    This is a good minor example of why I have little sympathy for African Americans as a collective, by this point. My last years in Philadelphia, and then many of the antics of Black Lives Matter, pretty much sealed that. (If the BLM connection seems to be a stretch, notice the signs being held in one of the photos in the first article to which I’ve linked.)

    1. What’s puzzling is that obtrusive displays such as this have nothing to do with the material or moral interests of rank-and-file blacks, rightly understood. (The scheming of black politicians has almost nothing to do with the material and moral interest of any party not employed as a social worker or school administrator). Almost nobody sticks up for working class blacks, and working class blacks don’t seem to mind.

  7. She’s a judge! She’s a woman! She’s superior! She is independent! She’s autonomous! She’s great! Can we get rid of generational welfare, affirmative action, food stamps, quotas, forced busing, Obamacare, WIC, TANF, social services, HAMP, HARP, HUD, HHS, public, housing, “Non-Discrimination” laws, “Fair Housing” laws, minimum wage, etc., etc., etc., now? Just privatize the American welfare state into the free markets of the private sector – in the charity realm – where it always has been and
    must be now.

    Alms for the poor? Alms for the poor?

    The inmates have taken over the asylum, no, no, the inmates have taken over the republic.

    Ben Franklin, 1789, we gave you “…a republic, if you can keep it.”

    Ben Franklin, 2019, we gave you “…a republic, if you can take it back.”

    Abraham Lincoln seized power and ruled by executive order and proclamation to “Save the Union.”

    President Trump must seize power and rule by executive order and proclamation to “Save the Republic.”

  8. WOW! A “din’du nuthin!” Never saw one of those before…………NOT!!!

    Hahahahahahahaha…………………………..

  9. black people in america understand how to pressure judges and juries by uncivil loud protests, and we see another example of it here.

    on a certain level i have come to admire this; they advance their own positions! who can fault them for a certain loyalty and energy in the interests of their own group.

    i can fault white people however, because i am one, and they are very weak and allow themselves to be run over as a group time and time again, whenever the system decides., they lack that sort of coarse instinct of group cohesion that black people admirably demonstrate. the very individualism that has exemplified our people and our cultural advances, at times is a demerit instead of an advantage.

    we find it threatening, but perhaps we should find it inspirational, instead? im just wondering about this.

    1. Kurtz,

      I agree that white people would be better off if they stood together, but it’s not going to happen because of the cultural, political, ethnic and economic diversity among whites. I read an interesting article some years ago that tracked affirmative action cases in the federal courts. It pointed out that federal judges – an elite group of white men – were quite willing to allow affirmative action for blacks in blue collar jobs: police, fire, factories, trash collectors and so forth, but drew restrictions when it came to AA cases that would impact their own class interests: special admissions in elite college and professional schools. So bottom line, the federal judges don’t care if white working class people lose jobs to AA, but when it comes to who goes to Harvard or to medical school, they find that limiting AA is supported by the law. Same is true of busing. The elite whites don’t care if poor whites get bussed to violent, under-performing ghetto schools, but they’re not going to let that happen to their own kids. But I spoke with a Puerto Rican colleague and he told me the same is true of Hispanics. There is too much cultural and economic diversity to stick together. Cubans and Puerto Rican’s don’t particularly identify with Mexicans and Central Americans and aren’t going to stick their necks out for them. But blacks will stick together because they’re viewed as black, period. Not as a member of an identifiable ethnic group, such a Cuban or Jewish or Irish.

      1. fascinating TIN and thus we can see that while there is ethnic group identity and cohesion, there is also the effect of class consciousness on people too. maybe different ethnic groups are affected more by money status issues than others? i find the topic interesting

  11. Years ago the L.A. Times carried a story about an alcoholic judge who was thrown off the bench after racking up several DUI’s. Then said judge was hit with another DUI for drunkenly riding his ‘bicycle’ to the Liquor Store. Which reminds me of a Chicago judge whose court I used to frequent in my days as an Investigator.

    That judge, a bad Irish stereotype, used to have 3 martini lunches at a restaurant across the street from the old Police Headquarters Complex at 11th & State. The judge would then come back to court, for the afternoon session, and promptly pass-out on the bench. His venue would then become this bizarre spectacle where court employees would pretend the judge was engaged. Cases were actually called in denial of the judge’s condition.

    One of ‘my’ cases was called under these circumstances. The charade was so incomprehensible I could barely grasp what was happening. In fact, I stuck around after court to ask the clerk ‘what’ the judge had mumbled. All she said was, “Yeah, he doesn’t talk that loud”. Nevertheless, I had obtained a ‘conviction’.

    2. Hill – that’s just awful.

      This is what I don’t get. How can one judge be sentenced for 6 months for giving information to her brother, but this other judge show up to the bench inebriated, and pass out, with everyone’s knowledge. If an attorney complains about a judge, it’s my understanding he can be retaliated against.

      I don’t know how you kept your countenance, or perhaps the judge was too out of it to notice.

      1. That judge was finally forced into retirement. Then a few years later the FBI conducted a huge sting known as “Greylord” which snared several Chicago judges on corruption charges.

          1. Thanks, Kurtz, I didn’t know there was a parallel sting called Gambat. Very interesting.

            1. Peter, there was a creepy Outfit lawyer who after many long years taking mob money and fixing cases, got in over his head in gambling debts, so he decided to snitch on Pat Marcy et al. in that operation gambat and he wrote a self promoting book which you can get here. i find him a repulsive figure but there’s a lot of interesting gossip in it you would find truly interesting

              https://www.amazon.com/When-Corruption-Was-King-Chicago/dp/0786713305

              1. That’s amazing, Kurtz. It’s amazing to think The Outfit was still active into the 80’s and 90’s. And likewise New York’s 5 families were still active then.

                It doesn’t take a genius to figure how the Italian mafias influenced Black and Latin street gangs. Mexican drug cartels were no doubt inspired by traditional Italian / Jewish crime families. Which defeats the lame argument that ‘More guns are the solution to Chicago homicides’.

        2. Hill, that’s good that justice eventually found those judges. However, it appears that people went through their courtroom and did not get a fair trial. This wasn’t a one-and-done problem, unfortunately. However, perhaps the appeals court handled any miscarriages of justice by the drunken judge you described.

          It’s very sad for anyone to fall from grace.

          1. Karen, one of the judges caught up in Greylord was a young man whose court I had been to several times. He seemed like an honorable, youthful figure. When news of his arrest reached his father, the older man had a heart attack and died. That became a story in Chicago media.

  12. To a layperson like me, I would have thought this was a fireable offense. Did this turn into a criminal charge because the alleged victim was a juvenile?

    I read she was convicted of “unlawful interest in a public contract.” Could one of the attorneys here explain the charge? Does this cause her to be disbarred?

    The law should apply equally to everyone, and there do need to be consequences to judges who abuse their authority. I just don’t understand the law in this case. Why would this be a criminal rather than a fireable offense? 6 months in jail is dangerous to a judge or law enforcement officer, so it would need to be for just cause. I suspect there was information in the juvenile’s record that would have exonerated, or at least shed new light on the accusation against her brother, and that this information for some reason was not given to the defendant for a fair trial. Obviously, lawful means should have been used to obtain this information.

    1. Meanwhile, we have Barr trying to muzzle Mueller before he even raises his hand to take an oath. Some under-assistant deputy AG wrote Mueller a lengthy letter, advising him not to say anything that isn’t in his report After all, we don’t want the American people to hear the truth, now do we? The letter specifically said he couldn’t ID Trump as the unindicted co-conspirator with some of the crimes Cohen is doing time for. Should there be consequences when Barr, who is supposed to be representing the interests of justice on behalf of the American people, runs cover for Trump to help him not only escape responsibility for his crimes but also to help prevent the American people from learning the full truth? They don’t want him to explain why Trump wouldn’t sit for even an interview, much less a deposition, and the information that could have been gleaned and which could have established Trump’s complicity with the Russians in stealing the election. Mueller didn’t have either side of the conspirators in the plot to help Trump cheat to win under deposition. They’re trying to stop him refuting the lies Barr told in “summarizing” Mueller’s investigation.

      If Trump did nothing wrong, then there should be nothing to fear, so why is the DOJ trying to intimidate Mueller? Just yesterday, Trump again repeated the lying mantra: “no collusion…..no obstruction”.

      1. Meanwhile, we have Barr trying to muzzle Mueller before he even raises his hand to take an oath.

        This concerns activity in state court, Natacha. Do try to concentrate.

        Since Mueller has put considerable ingenuity into being evasive, it’s pretty rich to be blaming Barr for any deficits of communication.

      2. Hey Natacha, you forgot to scream, “TRUMP IS HITLER………AN’A R-A-Y-cis!!!!!!!!!”

      3. As far as the letter written by the DOJ lawyer to Mueller, you should keep in mind that said letter was in response to a letter from Mueller ASKING the DOJ for clarification of what he was allowed to say. So how dare they actually respond to his request, huh?

        1. Jane: How dare they lie about non-existent privilege, or, more relevant, how dare they claim sanctity of an alleged ongoing criminal investigation that Barr has no intention of bringing against Trump, all to mislead the American people and shield them from learning the truth about Trump?

          Mueller is now a private citizen. He can testify as he chooses. They’re trying to intimidate him into soft-pedaling the truth about Trump and his campaign.

    2. Karen,

      She was convicted of having an “impermissible interest in a public contract,” a class 4 felony. It had nothing to do with the age or background of the juvenile. Her brother was facing termination for striking a juvenile in his care. So she used her position as a judge to access the juvenile’s confidential records and pass them to her brother to aid his defense. She obviously should have kept out of it. She abused her position as a judge to intercede in her brother’s employment problems. She was found guilty by a jury and appealed. She exhausted her appeals in state and federal court. She was disbarred. Her biggest problem was her attitude. She has never expressed remorse or accepted responsibility for her wrongful actions. Throughout the entire proceeding, she was disrespectful and insulting to the judge. Then when she was finally ordered to jail, she went limp and had to be dragged out of the court by a female deputy. She could have been charged with resisting arrest at that point. But they let it slide. Now she’s accusing the sheriff’s department of injuring her when she was dragged from the court. She’s being held in a medical unit of the jail. It’s unfortunate to see someone who is a judge get fired and disbarred and sent to jail, but judges know the law and are expected to be held to higher standards. Normally I would say firing her should have been enough, but her attitude in refusing to acknowledge any wrongdoing, creating community unrest, and showing contempt for the court has led me to believe that what she got is what she deserves.

      1. Tin – thanks for the clarification. I had thought this was simply a fireable offense and had not understood the criminal component. Perhaps this would be related to racketeering.

      2. She sounds like a more exhibitionistic version of Carmen Twillie Ambar.

  13. Does anyone wonder why this country’s institutions have gone to hell?
    Just remember the LEFTISTS slogan = Justice for me, None for thee. And WE WILL TELL YOU WHAT JUSTICE IS, NOT THE LAW, NOT ‘DOING THE RIGHT THING’, NOT ANYTHING BUT F**K YOU!

  14. Some background on the story would be helpful. Usually corrupt Judges do not have such support. For example, was she singled out for special treatment? Ohio is hardly a bastion of good government. As is, the snippet is far more polarizing than it is illuminating.

    1. Actually, Hamilton County (greater Cincinnati area) is quite well-run. There have been some racial issues in the past because Cinci is very law and order; not a place to live if you think the law is a suggestion and not a law. I read somewhere that 70% of the people in the greater Cinci area are of German descent. There seems to be a culture clash with the black minority. In Cinci you will literally be arrested for painting graffiti, littering, drinking in public, using profanity in public, and other things that would be ignored elsewhere. And every time a black gets in trouble, it’s automatically presented by the local Al Sharpton types as racial discrimination. This judge committed a crime and was convicted of a felony, but to some local black activists, she’s naturally a victim. It never ends…..

      1. the Cinci culture clash has been going on for decades. read “Slaughter of cities” by jones.

        1. Sounds like an excellent book! Appears to be out-of-print (hummmmmm….) so it’ll take a bit to track a copy down. Thanks!

    2. “Ohio is hardly a bastion of good government.”
      *******************
      Convicting corrupt Judge Tracie seems good government at its finest. By the way, the woman in the black tee shirt got her wish just not the way she wanted.

  15. 1. She should have been suspended and left with her fringes and a small stipend the moment she was convicted.

    2. You cannot tell much of anything about her brother’s personnel record from this precis, but it seems bizarre that striking a youth is a firing offense for a jail guard, or even one requiring a formal reprimand. Juvenile jail guards are not guarding my grandmother’s bridge club. They’re guarding incorrigibles. Physical rough justice is what those kids need.

    3. OT, but can we abolish ‘juvenile courts’? If the fact-finding procedures in municipal courts and superior penal courts suffice for adults accused, what is the epistemological or forensic principle that says they do not suffice for juveniles accused? For younger juveniles (say, under 9), you can remit punishment and, once the fact finding is complete, transfer the case to family court for proceedings on the optimal custodial arrangements for the accused. For older juveniles, the municipal and penal courts can apply a special schedule of penalties (which would include remand to institutions which specialize in holding juvenile offenders) and then transfer the case to the family court to consider custodial arrangements during and after the sentence is served.

    1. TIA x X @10:13 AM: “Physical rough justice is what those kids need.”

      TIA is a fan of caning. There’s a video that he likes.

      1. modestly painful physical punishment after due process, like caning, works well in Singapore and we should try it here. it would be a better solution than locking a lot of these kids up in “college” ie Jail where they learn more bad things from other criminals and are abused by other inmates to boot.

        1. Studies prove that using physical violence as punishment and threats of more physical violence not only does not work as a deterrent–it is counter-productive and creates anger, resentment, depression and a host of other emotional problems that, unfortunately, get passed on to the next generation or which are manifested as bullying or other anti-social behavior.

          The reason there is a separate juvenile justice system is that children: 1. don’t have the emotional or psychological maturity to form a mens rea, or guilty mind– knowledge that some act is wrong, immoral or illegal, but consciously choosing to proceed anyway, like an adult; 2. unlike adults, children have poor impulse control, which is a product of their lack of emotional maturity and life experience; 3. are often themselves victims of a dysfunctional family situation, such as domestic violence, sexual molestation or other factors that impact their ability to avoid hurting others, stealing, and so forth. Many JDs needed mental health treatment before they got arrested; 4. are oftentimes undiagnosed with learning disabilities, so they fall behind their peers, don’t like school, fail at school, and have feelings of low self-worth and self-esteem. Being out of the educational system increases the likelihood that their learning problems won’t be addressed and that they will spiral downward into a dysfunctional lifestyle, including substance abuse.

          Children are not just small adults–they are not fully developed physically or emotionally. They deserve a separate justice system to hold them accountable for their conduct and protect society, but also address family issues, get them diagnosed and on a treatment plan and help them get on the right path.

          1. Studies prove that using physical violence as punishment and threats of more physical violence not only does not work as a deterrent–it is counter-productive and creates anger, resentment,

            Natacha fancies child psychologists are trustworthy. (Not that she can locate any actual ‘studies’).

            1. every gang member in prison knows that physical punishment deters unwanted behavior, which is why they hand out beat downs to the errant inmates who violate gang rules

              but Natch doesnt get it

            2. You might want to try the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention, or the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, both of which cite many studies. From the latter’s March, 2018 publication:

              Children need limits and rules. There are many ways to give children rules and help change their behavior. Examples include positive reinforcement, time-out, taking away of privileges, and physical punishment. Physical punishment, sometimes called corporal punishment, is anything done to cause pain or discomfort in response to your child’s behaviors.

              Examples of physical punishment include:
              •spanking (one of the most common methods of physical punishment)
              •slapping, pinching, or pulling
              •hitting with an object, such as a paddle, belt, hairbrush, whip, or stick
              •making someone eat soap, hot sauce, hot pepper, or other unpleasant substances

              Parents who were physically punished as children are more likely to physically punish their own children.

              Physical punishment may influence behavior in the short-term. However, physical methods of discipline can result in the following consequences in your child:
              •bullying other children
              •being aggressive
              •behavioral problems
              •fearing his or her parents
              •poor self-esteem
              •thinking that hitting is okay
              •increased risk of depression, anxiety, and personality problems

              In extreme situations, physical punishment can lead to more severe and abusive behavior towards children. Abuse can cause injury, loss of custody, arrest, jail-time, and in even the death of a child.

              There are valid, evidence-based reasons why inflicting physical punishment on children is considered child abuse these days.

              1. You might want to try the Centers For Disease Control and Prevention

                No I don’t. People who want to promote their social ideology under the guise of ‘public health’ are not trustworthy. They’ve lost interest in actual, you know, diseases, but are hot to tell us we should not own a pistol.

          2. as to the juvenile justice system, there are a lot of things that need reforming, most of all, anything that puts the victims of abuse in a cell or home with new abusers

            sorting that out is difficult and expensive business, but it could be done with sufficient commitment and resources

            the idea of applying some adult legal justice standards to juvenile matters is not always wrong, for example, what is a guardian ad litem doing “representing” a kid, when the GAL is not a licensed lawyer? instead, some social sciences phony? usually these kids get the short end of the stick and would do a lot better if they had a lawyer on their side. this is in the child abuse area

            one could go on and on but there’s little appetite for the conversation among politicians or people interested in political things

            1. Social work programs (see the course list at Washington University in St. Louis, the one most favored by the guild) are a jumble that functions in toto like a paper hoop to restrict entry and maintain the fiction that social work is an actual profession. If we did not live in clown world, schools of social work would be closed and those working in the venues which employ social workers would be trained in programs specific to the venue (clinical psych, public administration, law enforcement) or trained on-the-job.

  16. And this judge probably expects regular citizens to obey the law. Rules for thee, but not for me!

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