Judge Jaqueline Hatch Needs to Resign

In Flagstaff Arizona an off duty cop named Robb Gary Evans got drunk, flashed his badge to enter a bar for free, then walked up to a woman, slid his hand up her skirt and fondled her genital region.  The unnamed victim showed a great deal of courage by not only reporting this incident to the police, but by following it through to a logical conclusion; a guilty verdict of sexual abuse.

The judge in this very sad case not only gave Mr. Evans no jail time, he also doesn't have register as a sex offender.  But to make matters worse this is what she told the victim in the case:

If you wouldn't have been there that night, none of this would have happened to you. I hope you look at what you've been through and try to take something positive out of it. You learned a lesson about friendship and you learned a lesson about vulnerability."

Ugh.  What kind of 19th century thinking is this?  Women who are sexually assaulted are not to blame for someone else's disgusting behavior.

Judge Hatch was originally seated after being selected by a bi-partisan panel then Governor Jan Brewer made the final selection.  She ran for re-election in 2010 and won with 52% of the vote.  If she doesn't resign, lets hope that the people of that county are reminded of this and decide to send her into retirement where she belongs.

The Judge has since issued an apology after this made international news:

"It was never my intention to make a situation worse for any victim,"

What did she think was going to happen when she made her statement?  A woman going up against a police officer on a charge of sexual abuse is, at best, a very difficult thing to do.  While I had never heard of this case until now, I am sure that locally it was quite a story.  During the sentencing hearing another cop testified for the convicted felon:

"These people put their lives on the line every day," Evan's former partner said. "I hope you'll be lenient on him. To me, this is one way we can give a little back to those in law enforcement who give so much to us everyday."

I don't care what a cop does everyday, once he crosses the line into criminal behavior he is like any other defendant.  It is very well-known that cops stick up for other cops that are dirty or otherwise engage in criminal behavior, The Blue Wall as it is called.  So the fact that victim pushed ahead with her case says to me that she has a great deal of courage.  The judge slapped her in the face with her comments.

Please let me know who is running against this judge in 2014 so I can write them a check.  Republicans wonder why the left keeps up with its "war on women" theme.  Well, here you go.