The only thing worse than race-baiting or misinformation is when the two appear together. Society is inflamed enough without resorting to the combination. Enter Jim Lawrence, the former mayor of Foster City and chair of Fixin’ San Mateo County, writing a letter to the DJ. He starts off well-enough with a concern many of us probably have but can’t stop himself there. He writes (and I snip):

The eight-month jail sentence imposed on former San Mateo County Community College Chancellor Ron Galatolo has shaken all confidence in our local judicial system. Mr. Galatolo was convicted of eight felony counts involving perjury and tax fraud. According to published reports, both the San Mateo County District Attorney’s Office and the Probation Department recommended a state prison sentence. Judge Leland Davis instead imposed just eight months in county jail, with the likelihood that he will serve only about four months.

I don’t know about “all confidence” but OK so far. Eight months is light in my opinion as well and the whole idea of serving halves of sentences is ridiculous. But things quickly go off the tracks.

As an African American, I cannot help but wonder whether a working-class defendant or a person of color would receive the same outcome. This strongly indicates that we need a review of court policy and procedures. As a strong proponent of oversight, I believe this is yet another taxpayer-funded function over which taxpayers have little meaningful oversight or input. Wake up, everybody. Titles do not make the man — but they certainly seem to count in our court system.

The only problem, and it’s a biggie, is Judge Leland Davis is black. How do I know? Because the last time I had jury duty, he was the judge. In fact, he was appointed to the bench by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in December of 2010 and is the current Presiding Judge for San Mateo County. I may have actually been in his court room twice over the last 15 years and I clearly remember a photo of Justice Thurgood Marshall on his wall. I recall him being of the “no nonsense” school of judging. Shouldn’t someone like Jim Lawrence either know this or bother to look into it before firing off a misleading public letter? Short answer is “yes”. Just another reason why I call his op Wreckin’ San Mateo County. Their idea of “oversight” is often short-sighted. Here’s Judge Davis.