Unnecessary laws weaken
the necessary ones
   - Charles de Secondat Montesquieu

May 20, 2008

Novi District Court Magistrate Judith Holtz got some unexpected publicity nation-wide and all the way to  London last week when it came to light that she recently suggested to an underage drinker that he would be better off dead, and went on to explain how he could kill himself.

Needless to say, the defendant's mother and many others were shocked with the outburst. It seems the majority, however, felt the magistrate was reasonably trying to teach the repeat offender a lesson by way of an analogy.

The young defendant had two prior convictions for drunk driving, and was standing in front of Magistrate Holtz on a new charge of minor in possession of alcohol. Following the much publicized court proceeding, the defendant reportedly tested positive for cocaine, marijuana and amphetamines.

Apparently the scolding didn't work - at least not in this case. So was the magistrate out of order?

We think she could have used better words to convey the serious nature of the obvious issues this young man has, but that's easy to say after the fact. To be sure, this young man's issues are age-old issues that certainly no 20-year-old has all the answers for.

We the People are pleased the our fine police department and courts take a proactive stance toward Novi-area youth. Unlike many communities, they rarely if ever look the other way.

At the same time, we wonder if changing the national drinking age from 18 to 21 has forced young adults underground to indulge, creating a cat and mouse game with officials while at the same time weakening the importance of laws such as illegal drug use and drunk driving in the minds of these youthful "offenders".

p.s. - Kudos to the City of Novi on yet another fantastic website being used to promote our fine city, and also to our fine schools for once again being named one of the best in the nation! Well done folks!