Judge Amber Wolf of Louisville, KY, had just finished a hearing for James Roeder and was about to begin the next hearing for James' wife, Ashley. The couple is reportedly facing burglary charges in the same case. But just before Ashley's hearing, Judge Wolf decided to go off-script and make one very special exception in the courtroom.
Since James and Ashley are co-defendants, they've been ordered to have no contact with one another. But the judge learned that James had not yet met his 1-month-old son, which changed everything, if only for a few brief moments.
"I saw her try to hold the baby up when he came out for his case to be called with his attorney,” Judge Wolf told WDRB. "…It occurred to me after we finished this case that he had not met his baby — who was 30 days old — and that he was not going to get an opportunity to meet his baby anytime in the near future."
That's when Judge Wolf provides James with clear instructions as he stands in front of her at the podium:
"I don’t want you to say anything about your case at all. Don’t say anything. Your lawyer is not present right now. But I understand that there is a chance that you’re going to go back to Todd County, and your baby is a month old, and you haven’t met that baby yet. Is that right?” she asks him.
"Yes, maam," James responds.
"Mrs. Roeder, do you want to come up here?" Ashley then steps up to the podium and hands James their baby. During the short and bittersweet meeting, James gets to look in his son's eyes and hold him for the first time — who knows when he'll have the opportunity again.
Following both hearings, Judge Wold told WDRB, "It wasn't really a judge thing. I think it was just more of a human thing."
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