Ordering defendants to support Faith Based nonprofit groups

People want to change the law so they can continue this illegal practice. They say its was voluntary, but in reality did the defendant really have a choice. NO! its amazing how supposed legal professionals pretend not to know any better. Its sad

Judges across Montana have been ordering defendants to make donations to charitable organizations instead of, or in addition to, paying fines to the state, said District Judge Ed McLean of Missoula, chairman of the Judicial Standards Commission.‘‘I know it was fairly common,’’ McLean said. ‘‘It’s safe to say that it was going on in about 10 or 12 locations across the state.’’Once the commission realized the practice was so widespread, it had to do something, McLean said.In some cases, judges were giving defendants the option of donating food. In others, they were ordering people to give money to a certain task force or nonprofit group, such as a boys and girls club.In one case last year, a Clinton man was ordered, as part of a plea agreement, to donate $100 annually to Mothers Against Drunk Driving, in the name of the woman who was killed in a crash he caused while driving drunk.District Judge John Larson of Missoula, who presided over that case, agreed that including donations in sentences had become ‘‘quite common.’’He declined to comment on his feelings about the change, saying his personal views are irrelevant because the issue has been decided.McLean said he doesn’t dispute that judges like Larson and Luth had honorable intentions, but the fact remains they were violating Montana statutes and the Canons of Judicial Ethics.