Judge Has UT Teen Cut Off Ponytail in Court

A Utah mother is second-guessing some legal decisions she made for her teenage daughter after an in-court haircut.

FOX News Radio’s Jane Metzler has more:

Valerie Bruno of Price, Utah, filing a formal complaint against a juvenile court judge, and says she should have hired a lawyer when her 13-year-old daughter wound up in his court for cutting off the hair of a 3-year-old and harassing another girl over the phone.

Judge Scott Johansen gave the teen 30 days detention and 276 hours community service, but offered to drop 150 hours if the girl’s mother chopped off her ponytail right there in his courtroom.  Bruno says she was intimidated, so she did it – cutting off more hair when the mother of the 3-year-old complained it wasn’t short enough.

Jane Metzler, FOX News Radio.

Editor’s note: The judge also offered a deal to another girl in the case to cut her hair as short as the 3-year-old’s, but she was allowed to go to a salon to have it done.  State law prohibits the courts from commenting – or even acknowledging – a case involving a defendant under the age of 14.