priv8ter
August 14, 2003, 11:46 PM
Those of you who watch baseball remember the guy that jumped out of the stands and commenced beating up an Umpire back in April, I'm sure. Funny how this didn't get as much air time as the attack itself.
Just wondering, do you folks in Illinois get to VOTE for judges, or will this guy get to stay in office?
Sox Park attacker gets probation
August 7, 2003
BY CARLOS SADOVI AND JOHN JACKSON Staff Reporters Advertisement
Saying baseball players encourage violence at ballparks, a judge decided Wednesday not to send William Ligue Jr. to jail for storming onto the field at Sox Park with his 16-year-old son last year and attacking Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa.
Ligue walked out of the courthouse thanking Judge Leo Holt for giving him 30 months of probation, while Gamboa and Major League Baseball blasted the sentence as setting a dangerous precedent.
Holt said he chose not to hand down a jail term as an example to other errant fans because it would "not serve the interests of justice."
He also noted that violent fans running onto the field are not nearly as common as fights breaking out between players.
"The violence that baseball players are exposed to comes from within," Holt said. "What fan has not seen a pitcher intentionally hurl a baseball at a player's head at 90 mph? Who has not seen a batter leave home plate headed for the pitcher's mound bat in hand bent on mischief and mayhem?
"What is the expected conduct of fans who sit for two or three hours drinking unlimited quantities of beer? How did Comiskey Park come to be known as the world's largest outdoor saloon?''
Gamboa, 55, who still suffers from "stuffiness" in his ear because of the attack, said Holt "is missing the point."
"In any pro sporting event, football or baseball, there's going to be some rhubarbs and there's going to be confrontations, but it's within the context of the game by uniformed people that are on the field because their job puts them on the field.
"It's just a shame that justice wasn't done in this case," continued Gamboa. "I don't know whether it should have been six months or nine months, but any kind of a sentence I would certainly think would act as a deterrent to get people to think twice before they step onto a pro sporting event in the future.
"Somehow, the judge just completely missed the boat on that.... I think we all are accountable for what we do and our behavior and, unfortunately, this judge didn't see it that way."
Ligue, 35, faced up to five years in jail for storming the field with his son on Sept. 19, 2002, during a White Sox-Royals game.
By his own admission, Ligue had been in a downward spiral, drinking and doing drugs after the death of his infant daughter last year. It culminated on that September night when television cameras caught him and his son--both bare-chested, tattooed and drunk--taking turns swinging at Gamboa.
Ligue has since undergone a 21-day rehab program, and he continues to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and counseling every month, his attorney said. Ligue is engaged and works for a temp agency.
When he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in May, Ligue said he took full responsibility.
Holt's sentence requires Ligue to be regularly tested for drugs and alcohol. Holt also required him to attend alcohol and drug counseling, parenting classes and to have a 90-day curfew. He is also to serve 80 hours of community service.
Holt said jail time was not warranted because Ligue has a limited criminal history, including burglary, a felony, as well as domestic battery and several DUIs. The judge also said Gamboa's injuries were not severe enough.
"A sentence of probation should not be viewed as a pass or a slap on the wrist,'' Holt said. "The defendant is a convicted felon. He will bear that stigma for the balance of his life."
However, in aggravated battery cases where the defendant has a felony record, it is not uncommon for the sentence to at least include boot camp, said Jerry Lawrence, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The office, which sought jail time for Ligue, has had run-ins with the judge before.
Last year, prosecutors tried to remove Holt from a murder case after they complained that Holt had a reputation for holding the state to a higher standard and burden of proof. Holt denied the allegation and charged that prosecutors' attempt to remove him was symptomatic of treatment he has received since he was assigned to the Criminal Courts building in 1998.
Holt said in an affidavit that prosecutors had filed motions to remove him from cases 42 times without good reason--well above average. The state's attorney's office has disputed the numbers, saying it has filed 31 judge substitution requests since 1998. The Circuit Court clerk said the state filed 87 motions for substitution of judge before Holt between September 1998 and May 17, 2001.
Ligue thanked Holt for sticking his neck out and "being compassionate in my case."
"I don't think there's another judge in the courthouse that would have given me probation,'' he said. "I want to thank the public for being behind me for this stressful time in my life. Now I'm just going to move on.''
Ligue's son was also sentenced to probation but soon ran afoul of authorities. The son, 17, got a year's incarceration for violating conditions of his probation.
Prosecutors asked Holt to order the father barred from Major League Baseball parks during his probation but Holt refused.
Scott Reifert, a Sox spokesman, said the team would not bar him from the park. "We can't stop him but he won't be very welcome. For his 30-second dash on the field he has 30 months probation.''
Just kind of makes me a little sad...I mean, I've been to many games, and drank my share of beer, and never once had the urge to run out on the field and pound on an ump.
Just wondering, do you folks in Illinois get to VOTE for judges, or will this guy get to stay in office?
Sox Park attacker gets probation
August 7, 2003
BY CARLOS SADOVI AND JOHN JACKSON Staff Reporters Advertisement
Saying baseball players encourage violence at ballparks, a judge decided Wednesday not to send William Ligue Jr. to jail for storming onto the field at Sox Park with his 16-year-old son last year and attacking Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa.
Ligue walked out of the courthouse thanking Judge Leo Holt for giving him 30 months of probation, while Gamboa and Major League Baseball blasted the sentence as setting a dangerous precedent.
Holt said he chose not to hand down a jail term as an example to other errant fans because it would "not serve the interests of justice."
He also noted that violent fans running onto the field are not nearly as common as fights breaking out between players.
"The violence that baseball players are exposed to comes from within," Holt said. "What fan has not seen a pitcher intentionally hurl a baseball at a player's head at 90 mph? Who has not seen a batter leave home plate headed for the pitcher's mound bat in hand bent on mischief and mayhem?
"What is the expected conduct of fans who sit for two or three hours drinking unlimited quantities of beer? How did Comiskey Park come to be known as the world's largest outdoor saloon?''
Gamboa, 55, who still suffers from "stuffiness" in his ear because of the attack, said Holt "is missing the point."
"In any pro sporting event, football or baseball, there's going to be some rhubarbs and there's going to be confrontations, but it's within the context of the game by uniformed people that are on the field because their job puts them on the field.
"It's just a shame that justice wasn't done in this case," continued Gamboa. "I don't know whether it should have been six months or nine months, but any kind of a sentence I would certainly think would act as a deterrent to get people to think twice before they step onto a pro sporting event in the future.
"Somehow, the judge just completely missed the boat on that.... I think we all are accountable for what we do and our behavior and, unfortunately, this judge didn't see it that way."
Ligue, 35, faced up to five years in jail for storming the field with his son on Sept. 19, 2002, during a White Sox-Royals game.
By his own admission, Ligue had been in a downward spiral, drinking and doing drugs after the death of his infant daughter last year. It culminated on that September night when television cameras caught him and his son--both bare-chested, tattooed and drunk--taking turns swinging at Gamboa.
Ligue has since undergone a 21-day rehab program, and he continues to attend Alcoholics Anonymous meetings and counseling every month, his attorney said. Ligue is engaged and works for a temp agency.
When he pleaded guilty to aggravated battery in May, Ligue said he took full responsibility.
Holt's sentence requires Ligue to be regularly tested for drugs and alcohol. Holt also required him to attend alcohol and drug counseling, parenting classes and to have a 90-day curfew. He is also to serve 80 hours of community service.
Holt said jail time was not warranted because Ligue has a limited criminal history, including burglary, a felony, as well as domestic battery and several DUIs. The judge also said Gamboa's injuries were not severe enough.
"A sentence of probation should not be viewed as a pass or a slap on the wrist,'' Holt said. "The defendant is a convicted felon. He will bear that stigma for the balance of his life."
However, in aggravated battery cases where the defendant has a felony record, it is not uncommon for the sentence to at least include boot camp, said Jerry Lawrence, a spokesman for the Cook County state's attorney's office.
The office, which sought jail time for Ligue, has had run-ins with the judge before.
Last year, prosecutors tried to remove Holt from a murder case after they complained that Holt had a reputation for holding the state to a higher standard and burden of proof. Holt denied the allegation and charged that prosecutors' attempt to remove him was symptomatic of treatment he has received since he was assigned to the Criminal Courts building in 1998.
Holt said in an affidavit that prosecutors had filed motions to remove him from cases 42 times without good reason--well above average. The state's attorney's office has disputed the numbers, saying it has filed 31 judge substitution requests since 1998. The Circuit Court clerk said the state filed 87 motions for substitution of judge before Holt between September 1998 and May 17, 2001.
Ligue thanked Holt for sticking his neck out and "being compassionate in my case."
"I don't think there's another judge in the courthouse that would have given me probation,'' he said. "I want to thank the public for being behind me for this stressful time in my life. Now I'm just going to move on.''
Ligue's son was also sentenced to probation but soon ran afoul of authorities. The son, 17, got a year's incarceration for violating conditions of his probation.
Prosecutors asked Holt to order the father barred from Major League Baseball parks during his probation but Holt refused.
Scott Reifert, a Sox spokesman, said the team would not bar him from the park. "We can't stop him but he won't be very welcome. For his 30-second dash on the field he has 30 months probation.''
Just kind of makes me a little sad...I mean, I've been to many games, and drank my share of beer, and never once had the urge to run out on the field and pound on an ump.