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Discuss the attitudes and values of judges and explain to me how this might affect who gets the harshest of punishments under a given judge. 

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Forum 6by Brown Reginald - Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 9:16 PMNumber of replies: 0Judges, like other people are emotional creatures who develops opinions and perceptions of certain things based on life experiences, faith, values, attitude, and protection of the community. This could very well impact a judges decision based on whether the  defendant is a repeat offender in contrast to a first time offender. The repeat offender is more likely to receive a harsher penalty in contrast to the first time offender. A judge may be lenient on offenders who are the sole bread winners in their household and a harsh sentence would cause long term suffering to the entire family. Also, judges may feel that a defendant will commit more crimes upon release may give a harsher sentence in an effort to protect the community.Forum 6by Byrd Darce - Wednesday, February 12, 2020, 7:12 PMNumber of replies: 2In Lafayette Parish (15th JDC) there are currently twelve sitting Judges and one Commissioner; ten men and three women. Out of those men and women, we have elven Caucasians and two African American Judges. Diversity is low, but within recent decades the dynamic of the parish system has been changing. Lafayette Parish has seats that are known to be the “African American” seat because constituents who vote in that district. Two of those seats are opening up this coming November; if history is correct the next Judge that will be voted in will be an African American (though whether or not it will be male or female is yet to be determined). Racial minorities make up 36% of the state’s population yet hold only 22.3% of all state- and federal-level judgeships in Louisiana, the report says (Daily Report Staff). Situations like this prove true in all states and communities. In our parish we are fortunate to have judges who are forward thinking; Lafayette Parish has a Specialty Court Division that has five specialty courts. Four Judges oversee the Specialty Courts, Judge Edwards (Adult Drug Court), Judge Duplantier (Family Preservation Court and Sobriety Court), Judge Breaux (JV Drug Court) and Judge Blanchet/Judge Fitzgerald (Kids First). Each of these Judges focus on reforming the judicial system, giving opportunity to all offenders to better their situation. Judges are human and, like all people, have biases that affect their decision-making. Efforts can be made to educate Judges on decision making, but also efforts can be made by the community to help ensure that Judges are elected that focus on progress in the judicial system.Daily Report staff (2016, October 26). Louisiana doesn’t have enough women and minority judges, new Tulane report says Retrieved 2020 February 12, from https://www.businessreport.com/article/louisiana-doesnt-enough-women-nonwhite-judges-new-tulane-report-says