Sometimes apologies aren’t enough. Montana District Court Judge G. Todd Baugh should step down from the bench or the Montana Supreme Court should remove him.

In case you don’t know about Judge Baugh, here are the details:

A few weeks ago, teacher Stacey Rambold, was sentenced by District Judge G. Todd Baugh “to 15 years in prison with all but 31 days suspended and one day credited for time served for three counts of sexual intercourse without consent starting in 2007.”

The sexual intercourse was with a 14-year-old girl, who later killed herself. During sentencing Baugh said the girl was “as much in control of the situation” and she was “older than her chronological age.”

His remarks were soon news around the world. Baugh embarrassed the judiciary. Baugh embarrassed Montana. Baugh embarrassed Billings.

He used six sentences in a letter of apology, which was written more to save his butt, than to really apologize. 

Looking at the big picture, overall the Montana judicial system is pretty messed up to begin with. There are people in Montana who are roaming our streets with double digit DUIs. Back in July 2013, the same Judge Baugh gave a Billings woman a three-year suspended sentence for felony criminal endangerment. She was fined a $1,000 and ordered to serve a concurrent six-month suspended jail term. She was caught driving drunk for the 13th time! Back in 2012, Great Falls District Court Judge Dirk Sandefur gave a drunk driver the equivalent of 1.6 years for each of the three people he killed.

Many judges sitting on the bench in Montana today are not always the best people for the job – they just have the money to win the political campaign. When an appeal is heard from the state district court level, it’s heard by a Montana Supreme Court – a court that is nothing more than a good ol’ boys and girls club that made their way to the “lofty” positions because they had the money to mount a state-wide political campaign.

Sometimes when appearing in front of a Montana judge, an apology will get you a slap on the wrist and a lighter sentence – heck, you might even be walking the streets after multiple DUIs. In this situation, Baugh’s apology is not enough; he should hang up his robe for good.

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