Eye for an eye, hair for hair? Judge orders Price woman to cut off daughter's ponytail in court
Teen had helped cut hair of 3-year-old girl she met at McDonald's
Johansen was appointed to the bench in 1992 by then-Gov. Norm Bangerter after serving as the Emery County attorney for 13 years.
Nancy Volmer, spokeswoman for the Utah State Courts, said state law prohibits her from discussing any case involving minors under the age of 14, therefore she could not even confirm whether Lopan had been referred to juvenile court.
The judicial branch did, however, provide the Deseret News with a statement of sorts that included a number of Utah statutes that govern the juvenile courts and the judges who serve in them.
"The Utah Code states that juvenile court should use sanctions that will 'promote guidance and control' and prevent 'future unlawful conduct' and develop 'responsible citizenship,'" the statement read. "Judges are given discretion in coming up with sanctions for youth that will change their behavior in a positive way."
Colin Winchester, executive director of the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission, said the state Constitution bars him from saying whether Bruno had, in fact, filed a complaint against Johansen. A complaint only becomes public if disciplinary action is taken against a judge, he said.
"A quick resolution to a complaint can take four to six months," Winchester said. "It can be a lot longer than that in a hotly contested case."
Bruno said she wishes now that she hadn't taken Johansen up on his offer of a reduced sentence for her daughter, and that she'd consulted an attorney before taking her daughter into his courtroom.
"I guess I should have went into the courtroom knowing my rights, because I felt very intimidated," she said. "An eye for an eye, that's not how you teach kids right from wrong."
Related: 10 of the Deseret News' oddest stories from the last two years
Related: Humiliation is unwelcome in juvenile courts
E-mail: gliesik@desnews.com Twitter: GeoffLiesik
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I applaud the Judge. The girls that cut the hair of the little girl went to great lengths to acquire scissors and then cut the hair. Why shouldn't they both have to have cut hair too? And hair will grow back. I think the mom that had to cut More..
In an separate incident, also before the judge, this girl has been cyber bullying another girl. This child is a bully. I have always believed the punishment needs to fit the crime. Her hair cut is minimal, hair grows back. The worst part of all this More..
Good for the judge. I'm all for logical consequences. This one will stick with the girl and hopefully help her see that what she did was very wrong. He tried to find a way that would involve less punishment, which doesn't usually work, More..