00:00I made the matter of Mrs. Jones versus Brooke.
00:03Mrs. Jones is not able to be with us tonight.
00:05She's working her night job, but she's made a sworn statement to me.
00:10Brooke, what I'm going to do is read her statement, and then I'll give you a chance to respond.
00:18She's very concerned about you, which is why she's come to this court.
00:23She says that you were a great student in high school.
00:26You graduated with a 3.8 and was accepted to a very good university.
00:32However, now in your first semester, she says that your grades have dropped to a 2.0, which is a very substantial drop.
00:40She says she's tried to contact you in your dormitory room throughout the day and even at night at late hours.
00:47And while your roommate is there and will pick up the phone, you're never there to take her calls.
00:52She was so concerned about this, but she took time off work to visit your dorm one evening.
01:01You were not there.
01:03She says here that there were beer cans everywhere, lingerie, other trash, and it was just a real mess.
01:12And she's concerned that in your move away from home, you've lost any sense of perspective and that you're faltering in your quest here to obtain a degree and begin your career.
01:27So that's your mother's statement.
01:31I'm going to give you now an opportunity to tell your side of that story.
01:36Okay.
01:36Well, Your Honor, you have to understand that I'm in college.
01:40She's paranoid.
01:41You know, this is the first time I've been at a home.
01:44She's going to be worried about me.
01:46And the reason why I'm never at my dorm is because I'm in the library.
01:49I study there.
01:49My roommate, she's loud.
01:51She drinks.
01:51Her boyfriend's there, you know, making noises and whatever.
01:55And it's just not the right environment for me to get ahead.
01:59And I'm just having trouble.
02:00You know, it's a new place.
02:03I don't have friends.
02:04I'm trying to stay ahead, and college is so much harder than high school.
02:09So.
02:10Let me ask you a follow-up question.
02:12And I want to be really clear about this.
02:14You're telling me that during those hours when you're not in your dormitory room,
02:20that you're spending that time in the library?
02:23Well, yeah.
02:23In class, library.
02:25I'm specifically referring now to time in the evening, perhaps time late in the evening.
02:31Yeah.
02:31Yeah.
02:32Okay.
02:33Okay.
02:33Because after your mother presented this story, we did some further investigation.
02:39And your university uses a passcode electronic key system to get into the library after hours.
02:47And it logs everybody's ID number.
02:50And we have not found much evidence that you're spending time in the library.
02:56So the facts are not bearing up with your story.
03:01Well, you know, thinking about the library is that if you go there early enough, you don't have to use the key thing.
03:06The door's open.
03:07So I just get there early enough that I leave.
03:10I would be inclined to believe you if I didn't see such a precipitous drop in your grades.
03:18The drop from a nearly straight-A student in high school to someone who's doing sub-C level work tells the story of someone who's not spending time in the library.
03:31I'm taking hard classes.
03:32It's not as easy as high school.
03:34It's difficult.
03:36I'm always having essays and what have you.
03:39And I'm just trying really hard.
03:42I mean, from someone with a background of straight A's, you wouldn't think that going to college all of a sudden, they're just going to throw it away, right?
03:49I wouldn't, but I think your mother's concerned, and I'm concerned as well, that the lack of discipline that comes from being on your own has caused you to make some poor choices.
04:03And this is an issue of trust.
04:07Your parents have trusted that when they provide you with this opportunity of being at university, that they're working literally day and night to have you there, that they trusted that you're going to make the most of it.
04:20And you're there for education.
04:22You're not there to socialize.
04:23You're certainly not there.
04:24Please don't interrupt me.
04:26You're certainly not there to party.
04:27And I think you're being less than frank with me, and I think you're being less than frank with yourself about how you're spending your time.
04:38And I think that you need to take a look at your own responsibility here with regards to the amount of time you're spending in the library and also with regards to your living situation.
04:50That dormitory is as much yours as it is your roommate's.
04:55Your parents are paying for you to be there.
04:57And it's not a party place.
05:02Your roommate gets to drive you out of it.
05:05If you need that environment for your studies, you need to take it upon yourself to make sure that that happens.
05:11Maybe at least you bring my roommate in here.
05:13It's not all of my fault.
05:16If I'm not satisfied with your compliance to my sentence, which I'm about to pass here, we may very well bring her in here.
05:24Because what I'm hearing from you is completely unacceptable in a living situation.
05:32I'm not going to make that judgment without hearing her side of the story.
05:36But if there's continued problems, we may bring her in here to hear that side of the story.
05:42Right now, though, I'm dealing with you, and I'm ready to pass my sentence.
05:47I think you're suffering from a lack of self-reflection.
05:54A lack of honesty towards yourself, towards your parents, and towards this court.
06:00Responsibility for yourself.
06:02In order to show you the seriousness with which I regard this situation, I'm going to sentence you to 100 strokes of a wooden...
06:13Is that even legal, like 100 strokes, really?
06:15Please, I don't think you need to lecture me on the legality of...
06:20Your mom brought us...
06:21You guys did this whole stroke scene?
06:22Your mom brought you here for this exact reason.
06:25And I think that rather than cop an attitude to the order of this court, allow sentence to be carried out and see where that gets you.
06:35And furthermore, because of this attitude, I'm going to sentence you to six months of probation, during which time I'll want to see records, which I can get from this library, that you were there during the hours that you need to be studying.
06:51And I'll tell you very candidly...
06:54Six months plus 100.
06:56I'm glad that you understand what I'm talking about here.
06:58I'm glad that we're clear now.
07:00If I don't receive the information that you're in compliance with my order, we'll bring you back here.
