So it Begins…

Joe Neal Jr. started serving his 100 hours of community service right where he was ordered to do it — the wastewater treatment plant. Sure, it the Reed Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and not the wastewater treatment plant everyone wanted it to be — you know, the big one down by the airport — but contrary to what they’d have you believe, Columbia County’s stuff stinks, too, and even if he was washing trucks instead of shoveling the poo, he was within whiffing distance of the bubbling, gurgling goop. More serious, however, was the fact that U.S. District Court Judges Randal Hall and Dudley Bowen wrote an order basically barring Neal, who of course was accused of raping his teenaged babysitter and pled guilty to the three misdemeanors that sent him to the wastewater treatment plant, from appearing before the court during his probationary period. Legal insiders are praising the order, saying that membership in the federal bar and the ability to practice before the federal court is a privilege, not a right. Hall and Bowen may suffer some social awkwardness because of it, they say, but they acted in the best interest of the bar, the court and, most importantly, the best interest of the litigants before the court.You Might Also Like: