Here It Comes

From the L.A. Times, we have a couple opinions on John Roberts. Go read if you wish.

Of course, he's going to be made out to be a piece of shit by any Bush hater, that goes with the territory. It don't matter who gets nominated, they're going to get slammed.

But in reference to the story, here's a little snippet:

'Eating a Single French Fry in a Metrorail Station':

Hedgepeth vs. Washington Metro Authority

In a zero tolerance case, the court upheld the arrest and booking of a 12-year-old girl for eating a French fry on the Washington, D.C., subway system, where consuming food is prohibited by law. Her lawyers challenged the legality of her arrest. In October 2004, Roberts wrote the majority opinion rejecting her contentions:"

No one is very happy about the events that led to this litigation. A 12-year-old girl was arrested, searched and handcuffed. Her shoelaces were removed, and she was transported in the windowless rear compartment of a police vehicle to a juvenile processing center, where she was booked, fingerprinted and detained until released to her mother some three hours later — all for eating a single French fry in a Metrorail station.

The child was frightened, embarrassed and crying throughout the ordeal. The district court described the policies that led to her arrest as "foolish," and indeed the policies were changed after those responsible endured the sort of publicity reserved for adults who make young girls cry.

Roberts is going to made to be the bad guy here. How could he convict this poor little girl on such a minimalist charge? What's wrong with him, is he crazy? What an asshole!

Well, maybe. But he upheld the law. He convicted the girl, which is what he should have done. I'll not fault him.

However, were it not for the idiot "plainclothes Metro Transit Police officer" this would never have been an issue. He's the one who went overboard.
He should never have arrested this girl. He could have done any number of things such as tell her she had to leave to eat or told her to throw away the food. Worst case scenario, detain her until her parents showed up.
But arrested and prosecuting her for such a minor offense is just stupid. He should have been fired.