Judge sentences rap music fan to Bach, Beethoven

Judge sentences rap music fan to Bach, Beethoven

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A defendant had a hard time facing the music.

Andrew Vactor was facing a $150 fine for playing rap music too loudly on his car stereo in July. But a judge offered to reduce that to $35 if Vactor spent 20 hours listening to classical music by the likes of Bach, Beethoven and Chopin.

Champaign County Municipal Court Judge Susan Fornof-Lippencott says the idea was to force Vactor to listen to something he might not prefer, just as other people had no choice but to listen to his loud rap music.

"I think a lot of people don't like to be forced to listen to music," she said.

She's also taped TV shows for defendants in other cases to watch on topics such as financial responsibility. As she sees it, they get the chance to have their fine reduced "and at the same time broaden their horizons."

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Now this is an intelligent and thoughtful sentence given out by the judge. She offered the defendant the ability to reduce his fine substantially by listening to alternative music, and made an excellent point about the meaning of the law at hand.

Surprisingly, the defendant refused the offer and paid the full fine, claiming he didn't have time to listen to classical music. His loss, doubly.

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Well I must say that if I were in his shoes, except maybe getting in trouble for blaring Berlioz, Chopin, or Incubus, I'd much rather pay the fine than be forced to listen to country or rap.