The Knucklehead of the Day award

Goes to Dakota County Judge Ed Lynch. Judge Lynch get's today's award for his handling of the case of Jeremy Queen.

Mr. Queen a Level 3 sex offender was wanted by Apple Valley police. He turned himself in on Tuesday and was arraigned in front of Judge Lynch on Wednesday. Queen who has been convicted of raping a 12-year-old girl, had numerous parole violations, not shown for court appearances to name a few. So what does Judge Lynch do? Release Queen on his own recognizance till his next court hearing in February.

Judge Lynch is just the latest example of a judge who feels no compulsion to protect society particularly its most vulnerable. This man has no business being on the bench or too many of his like minded colleagues. Queen is a threat to society and he's allowed to walk free. Another similiarly minded court system in Minnesota released a sex offender recently too. What happened? The man murdered 3 people, sexually molested another. When will knuckleheads like Lynch learn?

Maybe not till the revolution takes place in this country because of our broken and corrupt legal system. The rich and powerful plus the guilty get justice and the innocents get screwed. The American public will only take so much of this.

For abdicating his duties, Judge Ed Lynch is today's Knucklehead of the day.

Hat tip- Captain's Quarters
Open Post- Bright & Early, Bloggin Outloud, Basil's Blog, Jo's Cafe, Third World County, Is it just me, Right Wing Nation, Mudville Gazette,

A convicted sex offender wanted by police for failing to report his whereabouts turned himself in to the Dakota County jail on Tuesday night, only to be released the next morning by a Dakota County District Court judge.

Prosecutors, dismayed by the decision, said Jeremy John Queen, 26, has a long history of ducking authorities and violating par-ole. Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said he will ask the judge to revise his decision and impose bail on Queen, considered one of the county's most dangerous sex offenders.

Queen, who was convicted when he was 17 for having sex with a 12-year-old girl, moved into a house near Apple Valley High School in January but disappeared two months ago.

Queen, who as a sex offender is required to report his home address to authorities, was charged last week with failing to register with Apple Valley police, a felony offense.

On Tuesday night, after an article appeared in the Pioneer Press and related television coverage, Queen walked into the lobby of the jail in Hastings and surrendered.

After spending the night behind bars, Queen was arraigned before Dakota County District Judge Ed Lynch, who ordered him released on his own recognizance until his next court appearance, scheduled for Feb. 13.

A prosecutor from the Dakota County attorney's office, though, had asked for Queen to be held on $30,000 bail. Queen is classified by the state as a Level 3 sex offender, considered the most likely to reoffend.

"We are very surprised by the judge's actions," said Apple Valley Police Chief Scott Johnson. "Level 3 is the most serious of sex offenders, which is why we have been checking on Mr. Queen weekly since (his) moving into our community to verify that he was indeed living where he told us he would be."

"The fact that he has been … immediately released back into the community is most concerning."

A call to Queen's public defender was not returned, and Queen, who was approached by jail officials on a reporter's behalf, refused comment.

As a condition of his release from jail, Lynch ordered Queen to register his new address with police. Lynch said it would be inappropriate for him to discuss an open case.

Dakota County Attorney James Backstrom said he would ask the judge to reconsider the decision to release Queen without bail. Backstrom said the assistant county attorney who handled Queen's case Wednesday did not know and did not tell Lynch that his office had once tried to have Queen committed to a treatment facility, or that he violated parole seven times between 1999 and 2003.

Queen is one of only two convicted sex offenders in Dakota County classified by the state as Level 3, or high-risk.

Apple Valley police said they've found Queen at home only three times since mid-August, when the department established a new team of patrol officers to take over the task of checking up on registered sex offenders. The team made weekly visits to his home.

Housemates of Queen told police Queen was not employed but instead spending time at various other addresses. During one of their visits to the Herald Way house in mid-October, officers reminded Queen that he is required by law to report his whereabouts to them.

Police said they haven't seen him since but had received word from a concerned parent saying she had spotted him hanging out with her teenage daughter, a minor.

Queen first was convicted of third-degree criminal sexual assault when he was 15, according to prosecutors. In 1997, at age 17, he was sentenced to roughly five years in prison after pleading guilty to first-degree attempted criminal sexual conduct for having sex with the 12-year-old at her friend's house in Lakeville.

Queen served prison time before returning to the community on supervised release in 1999. He went on to violate parole seven times in six years, according to Backstrom. Among his infractions, he spent time in and out of prison for failing to complete treatment at halfway houses, nearly sideswiping a patrol car while driving without a license, and sawing off a home monitoring bracelet in 2003.

"This is an individual I believe poses a significant risk," Backstrom said.

In November 2004, with Queen approaching the end of his supervised release, the Dakota County attorney's office asked a judge to have him committed indefinitely to a treatment facility. The attempt was unsuccessful, and Queen alarmed Apple Valley residents by moving into a house in a wooded area less than half a mile from the high school.

Because he had served his full sentence, state officials said, they have no control over where he chooses to live. But because the state considers Queen a high-risk sex offender, Apple Valley police checked on him regularly and alerted prosecutors after Queen went missing.

"Why are they continuing to let Level 3 sex offenders live by parks, grade schools and high schools without some kind of wristband or something?" asked Ronald Lidbeck, captain of a neighborhood watch group near the high school. "I think they need to re-evaluate how they let these sex offenders out into the community."