Judge Gets Bum Rap in Press

The press loves to twist the facts. Last time I checked judges have to obey the law like everyone else. In the following case the law clearly states that a person’s record “shall” be expunged, or wiped clean if they have fulfilled all of their legal obligations. In this case Judge Trentacosta had no choice in the matter and according to the law he had to expunge the record of this woman. Some accounts also stated that this judge barred the press from getting into the court on this case. This judge banned camera’s in the courtroom to avoid a circus but did not ban the press. When will the press start reporting the facts?

Note: For the record Judge Trentacosta is a “friend” of SOET and has spent his valuable time attending and evaluating some of our students’ CAPSTONE or final projects prior to them graduating. We have found Judge Trentacosta to be thoughtful, thorough, insightful, and most of all fair. This blogger believes that Judge Trentacosta got a bum rap in the press on this one.

One press account....

Over prosecutors’ objections, a judge Tuesday expunged the record of a woman who pleaded guilty to a DUI-related crash in Pacific Beach in 1998, which left a San Diego police officer without most of his left leg.

Judge Robert Trentacosta said that Monica Thayer had completed all the requirements of her six-year probation and paid restitution in full.

Thayer, who was 27 when she struck Officer Dan Toneck on Grand Avenue near Ingraham Street on Aug. 13, 1998, had pleaded guilty to driving under the influence of alcohol causing great bodily injury.

Toneck, a traffic officer who was investigating a separate accident, was retrieving a camera when he was pinned against his patrol car by Thayer’s vehicle around 1:20 a.m.

The officer was rushed to a hospital, but his leg had to be amputated above his knee.