What a surprise! A defendant with seven prior arrests, two misdemeanor convictions and two pending cases in New York — one for grand larceny and one for sexual assault — didn’t show up for a court hearing after he was released on nonmonetary bond thanks to District Judge Xander Orenstein, who campaigned on social justice issues, including stopping the use of cash bail (“Suspect in $1.6M fentanyl case fails to show for court hearing,” Sept. 11, TribLIVE). The judge said they would carefully consider a person’s history and characteristics before setting any bail condition.
Orenstein succeeded in putting a career criminal back on the street to continue his life of crime. I’m sure all the social liberals and criminals applauded this decision. I’m sure Pittsburgh will continue to vote for people like Orenstein, especially since these types of judges work out so well in New York. I seem to have missed Mayor Ed Gainey’s response to this.
Michael Easterbrook
Harrison