Judge James Oakley of Burnet County, Texas wrote a Facebook post opining that a “tree and a rope” was necessary for a black man accused of killing a San Antonio police detective. Oakley claimed that he was not referring to lynchings, but rather hangings in the old West, a la Pace Picante salsa ads.
Oakley was merely reprimanded by the Texas Commission of Judicial Conduct, and ordered to complete four hours of racial sensitivity training and 30 hours of training for new judges.
I call bullshit. Oakley must have spent days digging for some excuse and came up with an ad that ran 20 years ago. The only thing I remember from those ads was the line “NEEEW YORK CIIIITY?” I am a white lawyer from Minnesota, and this is a prima facie case of RACISM. He touts a sick and racist form of vigilante justice, something his position requires him to be wholeheartedly against.
Much more than a reprimand and some “training” is required here. You can’t “train” out bigots in a few hours.