Court Opinion

ID: 9740827
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-26 20:42:23.841774+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:24:20.564101
License: Public Domain

Kelly, J.
(concurring). The trial court’s observation concerning the Department of Corrections’ policies and practices reminds me of Sir Winston Churchill’s reference to the unpredictability of Russian action: "It is a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.” [Speech in London, October 1, 1939]. It is incredible to me that the courts keep slipping and sliding over this greasy terrain without any reliable road map. The Department of Corrections is not accountable to the courts and the Legislature founders between its publicized penchant for protecting the public and its unwillingness or inability to provide penitentiary facilities that measure up to the responsibility.
In other words, I do not fault the trial judge for his gratuitous incorrect observations. I am sure he had sufficient provocation for a few acerbic observations.