Vermont Judge David Howard Strikes Again

This is a partial transcript from "The O'Reilly Factor," April 2, 2007, that has been edited for clarity.

BILL O'REILLY, HOST: "Factor follow up" segment tonight. Vermont Judge David Howard strikes again. A few weeks back, he sentenced child molester Andrew James, there he is being chased by our camera, James to probation. James sexually assaulted a four-year-old. Boy, no jail time if you can believe it.

And now Howard has been removed from a case after freeing another sexual offender. It seems Howard represented convicted sex offender Arthur Mason. There he is right there. Howard was his lawyer on a '91 sex assault charge, but the judge never told the court this. Freed Mason without bail after the man violated his parole. We told you this Judge Howard was a bad guy.

Joining us now from Burlington, Vermont is Paul Beaudry, a radio talk show guy on True North Radio.

It just gets worse and worse and worse for the state of Vermont. I mean, how many more things have to happen before the folks mobilize against the corrupt system you have in place up there?

PAUL BEAUDRY, VT RADIO TALK SHOW HOST: I honestly don't know, Bill. I know right now Jessica's Law is being basically stifled in the House. It's written, but it's not going anywhere. How many more cases? I don't know. And people are starting to call up pretty regularly, saying they're pretty tired of it.

O'REILLY: Well, I mean, it's being blocked up there by one guy. Right? Jessica's Law? Bill Lippert? He's the guy. House Judiciary Chair, Democrat, Bill Lippert refuses like they did in Maryland. And now we probably have to pay this guy a visit. Refuses to introduce it. Corrupt guy, no question. Let the people vote, Mr. Lippert. That's what you are there for. Not to block the law.

But look, this Judge Howard, I mean, he lets one guy out who molests a four-year-old boy, admits it. Probation. Insane sentence by any measure.

Then he does the same thing to another guy. Lets him out when he could have put him back in jail. And he doesn't tell the court that he was his lawyer on a '91 sex offense. I mean, this is judicial misconduct, is it not?

BEAUDRY: That's what one person in Vermont is calling for, that it could possibly be judicial misconduct. As a matter of fact, this recent case, the guy is a repeat offender.

O'REILLY: I know.

BEAUDRY: And he let him out.

O'REILLY: He lets him out. And every — all the authorities in Vermont, to their credit, it's not the cops in Vermont that are the problem.

BEAUDRY: No, they want him in jail.

O'REILLY: Right. It's some of the prosecutors are wishy-washy. We know that. Bennington County's got a problem.

But most of the prosecutors and the cops in Vermont want these guys in jail. They wanted this mason in jail. And Howard says no, I'm not putting him back in jail. He gets out, no bail. Gets to run around. There he is. He's out on the street. And Howard doesn't tell the court because he should have recused himself because he represented that guy as his defense lawyer in '91.

Now when you say people are calling up, how can they call you when only one newspaper in the state is covering this, "The Rutland Herald?" The rest of the papers continue to ignore the news when it's not good.

BEAUDRY: It's people that listen to my different radio shows and also from my own community. I get calls all the time. And they're outraged. It's almost like they're taking their frustration out on me. And I just tell them exactly where we're at and where the law is and everything. And they don't really like the answer. I don't either to be honest with you. It's horrible.

In fact, this recent case, even corrections, the guy violated his conditions of release, was found next to an elementary school. And the judge still let him out. It's just gone out of control.

O'REILLY: I know. We don't know what this guy did, by the way. His core records are sealed. We will — we are working at him. We will find out.

But anyway, look, I appreciate, Mr. Beaudry. You're one of the few stand-up guys in the state of Vermont, but the folks had better rise up there because it's terrible. And we thank you for coming on.

Watch "The O'Reilly Factor" weeknights at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m. ET and listen to the "Radio Factor!"

Copy: Content and Programming Copyright 2007 Fox News Network, LLC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. Transcription Copyright 2007 Voxant, Inc. (www.voxant.com), which takes sole responsibility for the accuracy of the transcription. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No license is granted to the user of this material except for the user's personal or internal use and, in such case, only one copy may be printed, nor shall user use any material for commercial purposes or in any fashion that may infringe upon Fox News Network, LLC'S and Voxant, Inc.'s copyrights or other proprietary rights or interests in the material. This is not a legal transcript for purposes of litigation.