[memmcgee]

The person more at fault in the Turner case is the probation officer who recommended such a light sentence. The judge idiotically accepted their recommendation.

I think the case for idiot judges that really makes the case for me is this one: http://reason.com/blog/2011/03/08/tennessee-cops-posed-as-a-...

TL;DR: a detective impersonated a defense attorney and got the victim to incriminate himself. The original judge in the case let them use the evidence in court and didn't immediately throw that shit to the curb. The appeals judge ripped them a new one though.

There's also the case of a judge in Michigan banning a guy from the internet for having a date over Tinder when he accepted a plea deal that the prosecutor then convinced the judge to double back on. https://ballotpedia.org/Dennis_M._Wiley

[yeukhon]

Well, I think both are idiots. I didn't know the probation office was involved. But judge has the final say in the sentencing.

There are many ridiculous rulings, some are harmless and for giggles, but some are seriously fucked-up like Turner's case or those you linked.