Quid pro quo and the double standard unfortunately occur in law enforcement more often than you might think. I have seen the unethical double standard happen, when fellow officers violated the very crimes they took an oath to uphold, were unpunished, without even a verbal reprimand by their supervisors, then cited citizens afterward for lesser crimes than the officer had violated. Quid pro quo occurs when an office stops a friend, an acquaintance, or a public official (Commissioner, County Attorney, etc.) and the person brings up their status. Statements similar to, hey, I am on your side and if you let me go this time I will put in a good word for you; or we are friends, aren't we (implying loss of friendship if a citation is issued). The worst example is when a fellow officer "displays" his law enforcement credentials, such as his badge, and says, I am one of you and I would let you go if I caught a violation by you in my jurisdiction.

Justice is not fair and that is why I admire what the judge did. He also knows people in law enforcement are not always "legally perfect" and if there were legal standing, I would want him to pursue the contempt of court issue against the sheriff to send a message to the L.A. legal system that his reasonable meted out justice will not be tampered with.

If you know of an ethical, honest law enforcement officer, or judge, who would never violate laws he swore to uphold nor would he apply the double standard or accept quid pro quo, similar to the fine judge in this case, then applaud that man or woman because the standards of justice they represent are incrementally vanishing.