Judge Caught Whipping Girlfriend

Unbeknownst to him at the time, Michigan judge Jason Kolkema was filmed apparently whipping his girlfriend with a belt during an argument in his western Michigan apartment. This was two weeks after winning a primary for the circuit court.

Now you might view this as a one off which will be dealt with quickly, which is what I initially thought, until I learned judge Kolkema has a long history of inappropriate behavior, possibly including getting away with clearly criminal actions.  

Kolkema, arraigned Sept. 19 on domestic violence charges, has a history of losing his temper, behaving violently around women and children – including spitting on a 12-year-old girl – and has violated court orders, lied about his relationship with his client-girlfriend, battled an Adderall addiction and failed to pay child support, according to a decade's worth of court and police records reviewed by the Free Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, and interviews with multiple people tied to him and his girlfriend.

Yet, despite all this, he was able to maintain his position as a judge. 

The reality is judges, as well as lawyers in general, do not have to abide by the same rules and laws as everyone else. This is called corruption.