Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, a media hog who seems to make news whenever he wants -- which is constantly -- was denied a chance to speak Monday at the sentencing of a woman who struck and killed a "Good Samaritan."
Clarke was thwarted in his bid to steal the spotlight by Judge Richard Sankovitz,(pictured, for once, instead of Clarke) in a judiciously written, must-read letter that doesn't take much reading between the lines.
The newspaper coverage barely mentioned it, and buried it at the bottom of the story, reporting:
Sankovitz explained in a letter that he did not let Clarke speak during the hearing because it would raise questions about whether it was fair for Lyboualong to take on two parts of government at the same time, and because it would shift the focus from the facts to Clarke personally because he is a local celebrity.
"I think you can see that if I allow you to speak, I set a precedent for politicians and celebrities and showboats of all kinds to use sentencing hearings as a platform for their own political and policy ambitions," Sankovitz wrote.
But that's just one of many great lines. Read it here.