US Judge Laments Inability to Jail Man for Unmown Lawn

[-Astoria-]

I- what?

[Vassenor]

I- what?

When you turn housing into an investment you incentivise policing the behaviour of others in order to preserve the value of that investment.

[The Black Forrest]

Dads property, kid was out of country.

Ah, so that does excuse the lack of filial piety if he was out of country. Perhaps he could have been required to hire a lawn crew for his dad? Depending on part of country, that may not be a ridiculous expense.

Irrelevant and another discussion. For all you know the son didn’t know about his lawn. It’s not exactly a topic of conversation.

The problem is the judge. He is a bully and comments like “I wish I could jail you” shows he lacks the neutrality to judge cases.

[The Black Forrest]

I'm confused. What crime was the defendant accused of?

Usually there are blight laws on the books. It’s for situations were people basically stop all maintenance.

[The Black Forrest]

Ah, so that does excuse the lack of filial piety if he was out of country. Perhaps he could have been required to hire a lawn crew for his dad? Depending on part of country, that may not be a ridiculous expense.

Or.perhapa the neighbours could have been good christians(tm) and helped.

Oh but talk about being a good whatever is much easier then actually doing something.

[Vassenor]

I'm confused. What crime was the defendant accused of?

Usually there are blight laws on the books. It’s for situations were people basically stop all maintenance.

And the way that those are applied is its own can of worms.

[The Black Forrest]

Usually there are blight laws on the books. It’s for situations were people basically stop all maintenance.

And the way that those are applied is its own can of worms.

True. It can be a case of a wannabe housing association. The history is lacking for the situation. Usually, there are a few warnings…some even offer support information. The article makes it look like it was an immediate summons.

Another article mentions an alleged accusation of bigotry in the past.

If that is true, the judge should be terminated as her neutrality is very much in question.

[Forsher]

I hate mowing lawns as much as the next person, but it does cause problems if ignored for too long.

If you don't want to tend to a yard anymore, you can usually cover it up and you can have just a big old patch of dirt and weeds. But most people don't want to do that for obvious reasons, prevents some soil erosion from having plants to hold it together and boosts your place's curb appeal. Astroturf is no good either, it absorbs and traps too much heat.

There's definitely valid reasons to have some yard keeping standards for a neighborhood. If a property is overgrown with weeds and things, it's an eyesore and could become a fire hazard.

That said the way that the judge talked to the old man was unnecessary. I would have shown more leniency or compassion towards him.

If you're removing overgrown gardens and lawns because they're an eyesore, you should be compensating the homeowner for the degradation of their property rights.

Fire and pest hazard ehm.

[Genivaria]

There's definitely valid reasons to have some yard keeping standards for a neighborhood. If a property is overgrown with weeds and things, it's an eyesore and could become a fire hazard.

That said the way that the judge talked to the old man was unnecessary. I would have shown more leniency or compassion towards him.

If you're removing overgrown gardens and lawns because they're an eyesore, you should be compensating the homeowner for the degradation of their property rights.

Fire and pest hazard ehm.

Have to agree, if the HOA wants to make this a requirement than they can fork over the money to maintain it.

[95X]

The CBS article cites a WDIV/Click on Detroit article, with additional details that cut things down to the root of the issue (emphasis added℠):

[Photo caption: A defendant was asked why he hasn’t been keeping his walkway clear but his situation didn’t garner any sympathy from the judge.]

[…]

Shibbir Chowdhury’s father was in court for failing to maintain his property in violation of a city ordinance.

[…]

“I usually take care of the stuff in the backyard and everything, but that time I was out of the country,” Chowdhury said.

Chowdhury said they did violate the city ordinance.

“There was really mistakes I should have taken care of that. But, yeah, still, like she should have said my father more politely,” Chowdhury said.

[…]

The violation of the ordinance comes with a $100 fine. The family said they have cleared the property and will pay the fine.

So the reason for the court appearance has since been cut down and hopefully composted.

It doesn't appear a homeowners association is involved, just a city ordinance requiring probably the public right-of-way/walkway and possibly private yards to be maintained in a certain way (it's unclear because no city ordinances are cited by either article and I didn't find anything on a quick visit to the City of Hamtramck website, sometimes they're easy to find sometimes they aren't).

Since there's no law in the USA saying people in positions of authority can't be rude to others, I'm guessing the real question here is 'is it ethical for judges to be rude?'

Edit: Hamtramck city ordinance possibly found! (If not, remember I'm some internet random, not a lawyer/etc. I've never even been to Michigan and everything I know about it is from Michael Moore documentaries and websites of abandoned buildings.)
Some website named "Love by Life" with a detailed article (https://lovebylife.com/burhan-chaudhury ... lawn-tidy/) claims it's this one:

Sec. 16-10 Compliance with orders required; violations, remedy; procedure

If the owner or occupant of any lot or premises shall fail to construct or maintain any particular sidewalk as mentioned and prescribed in section above, or shall fail to keep the same in repair, or to remove the snow, ice, and filth therefrom, or to remove and keep the same free from obstructions, encroachments, encumbrances, or other nuisances, or shall fail to perform any other duty required by the council in respect to such sidewalks within such time and such manner as the council shall require, the council may cause the same to be done, at the expense of such owner or occupant, and the council may cause the amount of all expenses incurred thereby to be reported to the city treasurer, who shall cause a notice of such assessment to be mailed to the owners of the premises if known.

If the amount of the assessment is not paid to the treasurer within a period of sixty (60) days from the date of mailing such notice, the treasurer shall report the same to the council, and the council shall report the same to the city assessor, to be by him levied, together with a penalty of ten percent in addition thereto, as a special assessment upon the lot or premises adjacent to or abutting upon such sidewalk, which special assessment shall be subject to review after proper notice has been given as in all other cases of special assessment provided for in this charter; and such assessment when confirmed shall be a lien upon such lot or premises the same as other special assessments and all proceedings subsequent to confirmation, provided for in this chapter, in relation to special assessments shall apply; or the City may collect such amount, together with the penalty from the owner or occupant of the premises, together with costs of suit.

[Forsher]

Since there's no law in the USA saying people in positions of authority can't be rude to others, I'm guessing the real question here is 'is it ethical for judges to be rude?'

I mean, people are rolling with the specifics of the incident but the framing in the OP and the poll is "this is not a mentality that is capable of creating justice, can we do anything about it?".

[GuessTheAltAccount]

We need a cultural shift toward growing useful crops over pointless lawns ASAP.

[Apocalyptic Haven]

Lawns are wasteful of water and should be abolished.

[Apocalyptic Haven]

We need a cultural shift toward growing useful crops over pointless lawns ASAP.

Ninja’d I see that I am.

[Gallia-]

HOAs are supposed to be beneficial for those people who don't mind following their rules or can tolerate the conditions it imposes. You don't have to worry about any bad/nuissance neighbors generally speaking, like you do with a non-HOA locale; or their neglected property/habits negatively impacting your real estate's equity because they'll be run out or forced into compliance. It has at least some merits which is why those exist.

You get more free reign without an HOA, but this also results in there being at least some neighbors who do stupid stuff like have their yard become a junkyard lot for broken down cars/personal crap or having a bunch of barking dogs every morning/evening. I hate it.

You can't have it both ways though. An HOA is a pain, but without one your neighbors are often a pain instead. There is some satisfaction to be had in ensuring that someone who is more trouble than their worth, can be forced out for good.

People who're slobs or live as if they're poor should have to live in the poor part of town, if they can't be bothered to adopt richer or more responsible habits/maintenance, if the community at large wants to maintain a higher valuation or standard.

Or we can stop treating houses as an investment and demanding that society orient itself around delivering a high return on that investment.

Based.

Houses should be torn down every 30 years and replaced with a new one.

[Apocalyptic Haven]

We need a cultural shift toward growing useful crops over pointless lawns ASAP.

Gardens and orchards should replace the lawns beloved by the Dolores Umbridges and Dennis Raders of the world. Real ecological and economic benefits there instead of water waste.

[Partybus]

Judge deserves all the abuse heaved at him. At best he should be removed from the bench.

And required to mow the guy's lawn...

[Diopolis]

We need a cultural shift toward growing useful crops over pointless lawns ASAP.

Gardens and orchards should replace the lawns beloved by the Dolores Umbridges and Dennis Raders of the world. Real ecological and economic benefits there instead of water waste.

Smaller front yards would be a benefit to us all, but having houses moved back from the street somewhat is far preferable to having them but up to the street itself.

[-Astoria-]

Or we can stop treating houses as an investment and demanding that society orient itself around delivering a high return on that investment.

Based.

Houses should be torn down every 30 years and replaced with a new one.

Japan-pilled, too.

[Jinggangshan]

...missing the "Involuntarily committed" option there.

Man, american politics... since the Donald appeared on the scene it's virtually impossible to tell in a raising number of cases. Is this real? I haven't looked it up, and I honestly have no idea what to think. There isn't anything left that sounds too stupid to be true anymore.

[Ethel mermania]

Judge deserves all the abuse heaved at him. At best he should be removed from the bench.

And required to mow the guy's lawn...

Now you are asking for Justice.

[Thermodolia]

Make no mistake, this is tyranny of the Home Owners Associations (HOAs) and NIMBYism in action.

I wouldn't be in an HOA if I was a billionaire. I would sooner air drop a metric ton of cash over the ghetto than ever pay a cent in dues and fines to those kinds of people. Indeed, if I was a billionaire I'd probably spend a big chunk of my money bribing individuals to goad their HOA into suing them and then paying for years' long legal defense to bankrupt them all just for the satisfaction.

Which is why I don’t live in one. Sure the neighbor two doors down has cars parked all over his lawn and the guy three doors up and over doesn’t maintain his lawn, it’s Arizona so there’s no grass just weeds, but hey at least I don’t have to pay some stupid HOA to tell me how to maintain my home

[The Alma Mater]

Judge deserves all the abuse heaved at him. At best he should be removed from the bench.

*her. The judge is a woman.
See also the video.

[Thermodolia]

If you're removing overgrown gardens and lawns because they're an eyesore, you should be compensating the homeowner for the degradation of their property rights.

Fire and pest hazard ehm.

Have to agree, if the HOA wants to make this a requirement than they can fork over the money to maintain it.

In one place I lived this is what happened. The HOA wanted all houses to have nice lawns, but they decided that the homeowners couldn’t be trusted so they contracted the lawn care out to some third party. The back yard was yours to maintain and as long as you had a fence they didn’t care what happened back there

[Thermodolia]

Gardens and orchards should replace the lawns beloved by the Dolores Umbridges and Dennis Raders of the world. Real ecological and economic benefits there instead of water waste.

Smaller front yards would be a benefit to us all, but having houses moved back from the street somewhat is far preferable to having them but up to the street itself.

Honestly I prefer having my house up against the street. Makes for a bigger and more private backyard or a front courtyard