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1:05
Special guest, as we always have and enjoy with him, Jean Valentino. It’s cooling down a little bit, but this is temporary. And Jean, you know, being in the so-called weather business up here—and all I do is read it—by the way, people would say, “Have you ever seen it this hot?” And I said, “Yeah, last year and the year before and the year before that. It’s the summer, folks. It’s going to be hot.”

1:26
It reminds me of when we’re in the middle of winter. I can’t wait for those dog days of summer so that I can warm up—I’m freezing to the bones. Then here we are in the middle of the summer, it’s scorching hot. I can’t take it; I can’t wait for a cold winter breeze. Well, let me tell you something, folks. You can put on more clothes, but there ain’t enough naked to keep you cool down here.

1:53
So what’s been going on? You’ve been busy round and about. What are your travels for the last couple of weeks?

2:00
Oh, we’ve been busy, all right. Right here in the Pensacola panhandle is a honky-tonk joint that’s been around for generations. It’s the Flora-Bama. And this afternoon, Eric Bolling from Real America’s Voice—a conservative outlet like Newsmax—will be there at 3:00 Central time. He’ll be with Governor Ron DeSantis and maybe some other celebrities popping in.

2:35
It’s part of Eric Bolling’s tour across America and Americana, shaking the tree with patriots from across the nation that we sometimes forget about in “them thar hills.” You know, a lot of great folks in this nation—still patriotic, still loyal, still supportive of the American dream. And it’s just so invigorating to feel the excitement that’s coming this afternoon. I hope you’ll be there.

3:09
Oh, we will be, yeah. It’s quite a time when people are trying to sift through what’s hot and what’s not. I know you wanted me to mention something about Iran.

3:29
Yeah, the Iranian conflict could have an impact on the midterms. But to my first point about Americana, you know, this joyous nation we live in didn’t come without a price. Whether it’s gas prices and oil prices, it’s not that they’re unmanageable, they’re just not where we want them to be right now.

3:57
And what Trump is doing is, instead of an all-out war with hundreds of thousands of troops and a kinetic squeeze, if you will, he’s moved with Scott Bessent, Secretary of the Treasury, toward an economic form of pressure—an economic war against the Iranians. And I think they’re going to buckle. They just cannot continue to survive if all aspects of their financial condition are encumbered and cut off through the world banking system. Trump has threatened to even have consequences for those who continue to try to help Iran out.

4:48
Now, this is what’s bothering me, Ted—the Gen Z crowd. Hey guys, listen up. You know, if you can’t tell me what the first 10 amendments of the Constitution are and what they stand for, then it’s not likely you know the history of what Iran did to this nation going back about 50 years. They killed Americans and we did nothing. They killed many other people around the world, too.

5:18
But we are now stepping up under the leadership of Donald Trump. And it’s a little bit disarming to see such a formidable force like him step up and try to use military kinetic action against such a hostile regime which is hurting us. And stand by—September 11th is right around the corner. It’s the anniversary of the World Trade Center bombing, the Pentagon, and elsewhere, where this nation lost thousands of other Americans as well. And it was all part of this Islamic regime of jihadists that are helping Hezbollah, the Houthis, and Hamas, funded by a country called Iran.

6:06
It’s not unrelated. Connect the dots. They did harm to us. They may be sitting back hoping we are soft and weak and that we take a pass on coming at them again. But I’m on the record saying that we must fight fire with fire and take down the enemy, whether it’s domestic or foreign.

6:29
And right now, the foreign enemy seems to be able to be handled, Ted, by a strategy that Scott Bessent has presented to the President of an economic nature, and the President’s willing to try it out. Patience is key. The objective is simple: make the Iranian regime run out of money before Americans run out of patience.

7:01
You know, you make good sense there. And I worry sometimes—and the Judge would understand this as well—we’re coming up on what’s the 25th anniversary of 9/11. For the first 9/11 ceremony in Hattiesburg, I put together a deal for our local American Legion post. We give $500 to the Firemen’s Benevolent Fund and $500 to the Policeman’s. Have done it for 25 straight years.

7:25
We probably had 500 or 600 people at the first ceremony. Now, if we get a hundred, it’s going to be a miracle. We just get put to sleep so easily and believe that, “Well, that was then, this is now.” It kind of scares me because the threat has not ended, and that ugly head of that serpent is still out there.

7:48
If we continue to forget the history that brought us to where we are, we’re bound to lose the benefits they strived for and believed they were entitled to. They won’t have a Donald Trump pressing them with a marginalization of their rights. It’ll be a Democratic Socialists of America, a radical communist wing of the Democratic Party, which is already underway in the United States.

8:21
The midterms are going to be key. I hope and pray that the Gen Z crowd says, “Oh my words, look what we almost did to ourselves. Let’s correct ourselves.”

8:35
And here’s one thing I’d like to say—I’m so glad the Judge is with us today because sometimes I get off on a tangent. God knows I’m not a lawyer, but congratulations on the hat.

8:49
Well, it’s one of those areas, Judge, that I wish I studied more. I had courses in college, and while I’m not far from professing any legal acumen, it just stimulated the brain cells enough to know that here we have this Lindsay Clancy case, and jury deliberations are currently underway.

9:11
And then we listen to the news and are quick to forget about the shootings, the killings in the subway, the number of Americans killed on the streets, the taking of lives, and all the law enforcement officers whose lives have been at risk or lost that the protesters against ICE failed to remember.

9:42
I have come to the conclusion that we need to reinstate the death penalty without equivocation across the board. Now, here we have a mother in Massachusetts that’s pulling on our heartstrings about her mental capacity and insanity issues. Insanity is being used in every single case—claiming that the person was mentally ill as the defense entitling them to get off from serious charges brought against them.

10:23
Well, of course you’re insane! Who would be sane in killing another person? By the very nature of the action, you must be insane in one way, shape, or form—mentally and physically, all kinds of encumbrance. I don’t care anymore. If you take another life, you die under the legal process, if that’s what is adjudicated.

10:50
The death penalty must be brought in place, and it must be in place equally and fairly across all 50 states. Autonomous power moving too far to the individual states—where each state is hiding behind a myriad of inconsistent laws that don’t reflect what’s going on in the state next to them—just casts doubt and confusion in our judicial process.

11:23
Judge, please correct me if I’m wrong, but how can you be sane? Of course you’re not sane if you’re taking another life. I’m concerned about justice for three little children—5 years, 3 years, and 8 months old—that were killed methodically in an organized procedure of intent without the husband knowing.

11:47
Was I sitting on the jury to hear all the evidence? No. But I do believe that all of the action around this nation that has gotten people off for killing other people without any justice—without any consequences for their actions—is showing America that we’re becoming soft.

12:12
If we can’t address this issue internally, then be prepared to be killed by foreign adversaries who are not as sympathetic. Ergo, Donald Trump and Iran. This is a nation of laws and justice, and we best be consistent in protecting the future of our constitutional republic by making sure that people who break such laws pay the ultimate price.

12:42
I mean, I agree with that—certainly the last part of it. Jean, what I tell people, whether I’m on the bench, in my private practice, or when I’ve taught at various classes at USM and whatnot, is this: you have the law that’s written in the books, what you can see, and then you have reality. That’s what we have, and I think that’s the way it is in most of life.

13:17
You got 12 people sitting in that jury box. I could give 12 people today a case, a set of facts, say the exact same words, give the exact same presentation, sustain and overrule the same objections, and that person may be found guilty and given life or given death. Then you go to the same county, pull another 12 people, give them the exact same facts and circumstances and objections, and you’re going to get a different result. There is no consistency in law. And I just don’t know that we ever can get consistency. All you can do is strive to do it and give people the options.

14:02
You know, I agree we’re a nation of laws—I don’t doubt that. But those laws are only as good as the people that you have to enforce and invoke them. The investigation is only as good as the police that you have. You got certain places in Mississippi or West Florida that are better than others, just for work ethic, budgeting, whatever.

14:29
Is that why sometimes you try to get a change of venue to get to a more favorable place?

14:34
Yeah, they try to do it. Now, what most places try to do is get one with the same demographics and things of that nature. So if you were to get a change of venue out of Hattie… Jean, you’re still with us?

14:46
Still with you. I think the Velvet Hammer accidentally lit a match in the gas tank.

14:54
Well, you know, I even got the Judge lit up!

14:57
Oh, no. Well, I mean, the facts and circumstances… it’s just, you know, this event is so tragic. Jean, I’m like you; I can’t imagine what would drive somebody to kill children. And then you amplify that by them being your own children! I cannot imagine it. I don’t know what could cause it.

15:20
I’ve been doing a little bit of reading about this, and like you, I’m not up there. I don’t know what the jury has seen and heard, but it is just so disturbing, disgusting, troubling, and depressing that you have these acts that go on. It is just so awful.

15:43
We got up here in Hattiesburg where the kids are now getting in such extreme trouble on things, and I don’t know what’s causing it. All I know is it’s become a big problem and it’s just getting bigger.

15:58
Well, I do believe, first of all, I commend you for your service. We talk about military; I think that the good judiciary of this nation is doing their best to hold things together. But what you referred to a minute ago, which I appreciate the most, is a consistency of law must prevail.

16:21
We have the Supremacy Clause in the United States Constitution, which says the federal government will intervene when there’s conflict at the state level. But look at what happened recently with Roe v. Wade being overturned in the Dobbs decision prior. A lot of folks are saying, “Hey, the Roe decision’s been overturned.” No, what’s happened is it’s pushed the decision-making process of abortion down to 50 states.

16:59
So now you have a situation where each of the 50 states is deciding how they’re going to handle the issue of right to life and abortion. You’ve got other decisions like that being decided upon at the state level. You’ve got an inconsistency in the voting process occurring state by state, which is what Trump’s also drinking water out of a firehose trying to solve.

17:30
But back on the main point of adjudication here in this Lindsey Clancy case… oh boy, I could bet you that if I was sitting on that jury, I might become fearful and compassionate that, “My words, there’s some information that shows that she is mentally ill.” But there’s got to be a line in the sand.

17:58
My mind says, “Of course she’s mentally ill. No sane person would kill three people, especially their own children at such a young age.” But that is more reason why the death penalty must exist, which she’s not even subject to in Massachusetts right now, as is my understanding.

18:18
Correct.

18:19
The problem is we need a serious consequence to stop that kind of… Did she talk to her husband? Did she take drugs? Was it psychosis? I don’t care. She killed three children. Who’s worried about the three children?

18:38
Well, I’ll tell you—oh, I’m sorry, go ahead, Jean.

18:41
No, that’s my point, Judge. That’s where I draw the line and say we need consistency not only of law, but consistency of the adjudication of the law state by state. And I think more of the district courts need to help promote that at the local level.

18:56
Well, first of all, about the mental illness thing: you have what mental illness is and how it’s defined by the courts. The courts basically say if you can recognize right from wrong and have an appreciation of your actions… Now, in my opinion, based on the very limited knowledge I have of it, she did have the ability to recognize right from wrong because she herself tried to commit suicide after it. So that right there takes you to it.

19:28
Now, obviously, there’s something wrong with her, but she was on a good many drugs—and had been for a number of years—along with a variety of therapies, counseling, things like that. At some point, though, the husband comes into play, or her family. Why didn’t they do something?

19:49
Look, I’m a parent, and let me tell you what I tell people in my courtroom when they say, “My child’s out of control,” or whatever. I say being a good parent means saying no a lot more than saying yes. Where was the husband in this? Where was the mother?

20:09
Absolutely right.

20:14
Guys, we got about two minutes.

20:16
Yeah, I was just going to say the actual death was not the first spark in this. I’d be very surprised at that. I’m sure there were warning lights, and why wasn’t something done before?

20:29
Okay, let me intervene for just a second and say… first, we’ll ask Zach in about 20 seconds, what is going to be the judgment of this?

20:40
In Massachusetts, I would think probably insane. They’ll probably come back with insane. That’s Mass—that’s just knowing a different area of the nation with it.

20:51
Okay. Jean, we got about a minute to wrap it up. What do you think?

20:56
Well, I agree with the Judge, but I also think it could be a hung trial—likely, very likely. I think they’re going to throw their hands up in the air and say, “I’m not a subject matter expert. The Constitution says a jury trial by your peers, not by doctors and lawyers.” And you’ve got citizens on the jury throwing their hands up in the air and saying, “How do I judge this thing?” I think we’re going to see a hung trial.

21:25
I think she’s going to have some sort of incarceration. The judge may step in… Judge, you know better than me, but the judge can step in and basically adjudicate when the jury doesn’t, and I think we may see some of that. But the bottom line is we need a penalty in place that is severe when someone takes the life of someone else in this nation.

21:58
I mean, that’s what our soldiers are losing their lives for outside of this nation: to protect us from this kind of antic. The least we can do…

22:06
You got to protect your… you know, we got to start protecting our own constitutional rights because they are being taken away, and the people have got to start putting good people into office. They’ve got to. As the Founding Fathers said, the government will govern as far as the people will allow it, and the people have got to start standing up for it.

22:32
Okay, guys, we got to go. Judge, thank you very much. Jean, this is… you know, you must be pretty special, we went overtime!

22:39
Oh my word. And I think you made the extra point, and so Valentino wins.

22:43
Oh my, that was a lot of fun. I’m so glad the Judge was with us.

22:47
Yeah. No, Jean, always a pleasure. Always a pleasure.

22:50
You won by one, Jean, but I had to give up a point and a half, and that half point will kill you.

22:58
Didn’t beat the spread.

23:00
Have a good one. Look forward to next week, my friend.

23:03
Thanks, guys.

23:05
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