"I gather a member of the Wayne family is here today. Does he have anything to say?"
Do judges really do this; ask for a member of the victim's family to say something? If Bruce had stood up and said he objected to Chill's early release, would the court have taken that into account?
Bump.
shareBump.
shareSince it was an early release as part of a deal, absolutely judges can take a family members statement into account. That doesn't mean they will, but they can. A judge can actually reject a deal if he deems it not fair or wrong. So had Bruce spoken, the judge definitely could have taken into account and kept Chill in prison to serve his full sentence.
Now as someone pointed out the judge was corrupt and was going to let Chill go no matter what so Falcone could kill him, but if we pretend he wasnt corrupt for arguments sake, he could take Bruce's statement into account.
yes, all the time. family members are also invited to speak when judges are sentencing criminals, particularly in death penalty cases.
shareYes, family members testify at sentencing proceedings all the time. They don't really influence the court's decision, as the judge already knows what he will do by that point. But it gives the family members some mental comfort to speak in open court that way, on the record
share