Romney calls on judge he appointed to resign
Here’s the latest on the “Only in Massachusetts” nightmare I noted last week. Things are heating up in the Bay State over the Romney-appointed judge who released without bail a convicted killer who is accused of the murder of a young couple in Washington state. Mitt Romney is calling for the judge to resign:
Twenty months after he put a career prosecutor on the Massachusetts Superior Court bench, confident in her law-and-order credentials, Mitt Romney called yesterday for the judge to resign because she released without bail a convicted killer who went on to allegedly kill again.
Eric Fehrnstrom, a Romney spokesman, said yesterday that Judge Kathe M. Tuttman should never have freed Daniel T. Tavares Jr. on personal recognizance in July, after he was charged with assaulting two prison guards. Tavares, 41, was near the end of a 16-year sentence for stabbing his mother to death in 1991 and had threatened in a letter – intercepted by prison officials in February 2006 – to kill Romney and other state officials, Fehrnstrom said.
On Monday, after five months in hiding, Tavares was arrested for allegedly shooting to death Brian Mauck, 30, and Beverly Mauck, 28, newlyweds who lived near him in a rural area south of Tacoma, police said.
Romney is now seeking the Republican presidential nomination, touting his record as governor. Some of his female supporters have highlighted his record of appointing women to the judiciary.
“There was a system-wide failure in this case starting with the judge,” Fehrnstrom said in a statement yesterday. “Her decision represented an inexplicable lapse in judgment and was inexcusable. Unless there are facts unknown to us, Governor Romney believes Judge Tuttman should resign.”
Tavares has threatened Romney’s life:
Former Gov. Mitt Romney said yesterday convicted killer Daniel T. Tavares Jr. should never have been released – a decision made by Romney’s own judicial nominee – as it also was revealed yesterday that the twisted felon vowed he would kill the governor and other officials when he got out of jail.
“This is a dangerous man who killed his own mother. He should have been held on bail, given his violent record, attacks on correction officers and a history of threats against public officials, including Gov. Romney,” said Romney spokesman Eric Fehrnstrom in a statement. “It is because of monsters like Daniel Tavares that we need the death penalty.”
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Good for Romney for asking for resignation, even if it was a bit late. The poor family of the couple who were killed; I hope murderer gets Death Row!!
Clarification: I meant “a bit late” in that it took Romney a while to call for her resignation. It’s obviously and tragically way too late for the victims of her idiocy.
Misplaced compassion on the part of the judge. Two innocent souls murdered. Pathetic.
In all fairness, there’s no way Romney could have predicted Judge Tuttman would do something like this given her record and credentials as a prosecutor. How does a career prosecutor release without bail a convicted killer after another violent offense? Kudos to Romney for taking a stand and asking for her resignation.
I have never really liked Romney his record as Governor has much to be desired. His stance on 2nd Amendment, state provided healthcare (which is expected to break state’s budget, weak stance on illegal invasion, and now his appointment of judges leave much to be desired. With Tavares history of violence there is no way this animal should have been on the streets. Romney asking this judge to resign is a little late kind of like his letting state troopers loose on illegal invaders 3 days before leaving office.
How can many of us know the pain this family must be going through?
IMHO – Romney doing damage control sux to the ‘nth degree.
When our system of justice goes from “Criminal Justice” to Victim Justice”, things will never change.
How many times do we have to put victims on trial to protect the rights of the criminal? Example: Rape victims.
I was not going to vote for Romney anyway and this just added to my feeling towards him. I pray he does not get the nomination.
Unless our system…
Would Romney have asked for the judge’s resignation if he wasn’t running for President? I hope so.
his appointment of judges leave much to be desired.
Do you realize how judges are selected in MA?? It’s a blind appointment. No names, no political affiliations … only education and profession experience.
“professionAL” experience.
and as commonsensemom states above; considering Tuttman’s professional experience this was totally unpredictable.
Unfortunately, the bench changes some people. In the case of prosecutors it can be, after years of giving little/no quarter to defendants, a conscience effort to be more “even handed.”
I hope even those of you who will vote for another Republican in the primaries won’t let the Dems attempt to smear Romney with this as a [erroneous] “Willie Horton” moment.
I actually appreciate Romney’s gesture, but it is far from enough. The need for a full-investigation and reform of the appointment process remains. At the very least the judge exhibited such incompetence, that some power needs to be taken from them.
The good news is that since the murderer is a white-male, unless I am misinterpreting his picture, no self-appointed leader of the various ethno-groups that bless this country will rush to his defense. Reform is possible! He might actually be executed if found guilty. Of course, every liberal creep, cretin, and coward will have a field day with it at Romney’s expense. Fine, let them go for it, if some good can be salvaged from this atrocity.
Actually the process or appointing a judge in Mass is fairly complex and not easy. In addition to the governor, something known as the Governor’s Council a nine person body must vote in favor of the judge. In other words, given that it is Massachusetts and otherwise very liberal Democrat, it’s not a sure thing that any Republican appointee would be approved.
Given that this was a former prosecutor, I’d be willing to give Romney a pass on this one even if he is as much a awaffler as John Kerry.
Blind? Maybe… but if I know your education & work records, 15 minutes on Google should tell me who you are… I’m just sayin.
On the other side, I don’t blame Romney.
Darleen Click:
It’s already started. I’m doing the best I can to set ‘em straight.
If the judge had any conscience at all, she would resign. This is not a minor error in judgment.
You know what’s truly precious? The Dems are defending the judge!
Check it out. I call Jarrett Barrios Senator Fluff because he lead an attempt to get Peanut butter and Fluff banned from schools (Although he is openly gay, he has a son and he didn’t want his son to be able to get a peanut butter and fluff sandwich for lunch at school – I kid you not). The fact that Fluff is made in MA and employees a lot of people didn’t slow down his crusade.
L.N. Smithee,
What is your association with the Romney organization? Are you a paid supporter? A volunteer?
You really are missing the whole point. No matter what the process in Massachusetts was like, the political reality is that it was Romney’s appointment.
As I pointed out, I am not pro or con on Romney. The political reality is that this will indeed be used as a negative. The one thing I am certain of is that Huckabee will not be the one throwing the stones – he has his own Willie Horton that is more direct than Romney’s.
Would you rather have this vetted now, or by the Democrats if he wins the nomination? All you have tried to do here is to silence anyone who raises this as an issue with Romney by making condescending remarks against those who mention it.
Romney talks about the process in MA – it wasn’t really his fault because of the “system”. The murdered girl’s father blames Romney directly. Whose sound bite will get more attention?
And frankly, blaming the system is a bit too Clintonian in my book. Great leaders do not need scapegoats nor are they compelled to lay the blame off for things that occurred during their watch.
You can deny it all you want. It WILL be an issue.
11/24/07 NY Post:
There’s no doubt in my mind that this will be an issue as long as Romney’s a candidate. He is almost a poster child for the Democrats to trot out effective Republican strategies from past campaigns and turn them back on us.
This is what happens when you appoint ‘token’ judges instead of serious law practitioners.