Colorado Judge Punishes Noise Ordinance Violators By Listening to Barry Manilow and Barney songs

Sometimes judges get it completely right … Kudos to Judge Paul Sacco.

Here is a rather unconventional punishment for those that violated the noise ordinance in Fort Lupton, CO dreamed up by Judge Paul Sacco. Talk about the punishment fitting the crime. Brilliant! Making boomcar offenders have to listen to Barney continuously, cranked up at high audio levels. Simply brilliant! They may want to try this with Islamofascist terrorists as well to get them to talk.

The judge sentenced the noise ordinance violators to one hour of listening to songs by Barry Manilow, Barney and Dolly Parton. Honestly, this is pure brilliance on the part of Judge Sacco as he stated, “When you have a person playing rap at extreme volumes all over the city, and they have to sit down and listen for an hour to Barry Manilow, its horrible punishment.”

Violaters of the city of Fort Lupton’s noise ordinance were in for a big surprise this past Friday. The city’s judge sentenced citizens who have been busted for being too loud to 1 hour of listening to unpopular or unusual music.

In a courtroom with mostly young adult offenders, Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” played loudly on a boombox.

During the full hour of punishment, they were not allowed to chew gum, eat, drink, read or even sleep.

Most violators found the first few minutes funny. As time wore on with Karen Carpenter, Barry Manilow and Barney songs, they weren’t laughing anymore. (CBS4 Denver)

8 Responses to “Colorado Judge Punishes Noise Ordinance Violators By Listening to Barry Manilow and Barney songs”

1. Red on September 16th, 2007 7:33 pm

   If they made the prisoners in GITMO listen to Barney, they may have been able to extract more info.
   R

2. December_star on September 16th, 2007 8:16 pm

   I was actually in court with this judge about a month ago, he was a riot. There were 2 young men there for playing their music to loud. Judge Sacco said “do you know know what your punishment is…it’s the worst Barry Manilow and Barney.” I laughed the defendants laughed, everyone laughed, all of us thinking he was kidding. Guess he wasn’t…lol

3. Red on September 17th, 2007 1:03 am

   #2, I guess he was not kidding.

   What a great punishment. May want to add the Bee Gee’s greatest hits as well.
   R

4. George on September 17th, 2007 8:00 pm

   I saw this story on headline news over the weekend and have been laughing ever since. When they showed the story and the faces on the 20 or so people who were being punishing was absolutely hilarious. One maucho guy looked like a tear was forming, 2 spanish girls had the blankest look I’ve seen in a long time, and another guy was pinching the the top of his nose as if he had the worst migraine. I was telling my buddy about it and thinking if he followed the 1 hr of Barry up with an hour of screaming Celine Dion, he would never see these people again. Oh our court system here in Springfield Mass needs to get as creative as Judge Sacco.

5. Richard on September 18th, 2007 8:16 pm

   Question for the ACLU … does being forced to listen to Barry Manilow constitute cruel and unusual punishment, to the degree of a constitutional violation?

   I would submit that it probably does.

6. December_star on September 18th, 2007 11:49 pm

   #4 Judge Sacco is a very reasonable and clever guy. I remeber sitting in his court room thinking I couldn’t wait to stand before him, becasue he was very fair to all who stood before him. i knew I would not only be heard but handeled in a responsible manner. Fortunantly(or unfortunanlty…lol) I never did stand before him as my case was dropped by the DA before I ever got there. But he was just as inventinve and well thought out with almost all of the cases before him(I got to see them all as I was the last person the DA saw that day). Yes, the world could use way more Judges like him.

7. matthew on October 9th, 2007 12:39 pm

   “They may want to try this with Islamofascist terrorists as well to get them to talk.”

   someone already thought of that:
   http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/T/torture/methods.htm
   “Prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay and elsewhere report being ordered to stand motionless for hours at a time; being subjected to ‘environmental manipulation’ (extremes of heat and cold); being bombarded with bright lights and loud music ranging from heavy metal to Barney the Dinosaur;”

8. whizkidforte on December 2nd, 2008 11:24 am

   Since the holidays have arrived, I think that the court would chastise offenders with “Because It’s Christmas,” a Barry Manilow song, by now!

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