Who's the victim with willing participants?
By now we all know about the Judge Miller / Heather Viator story. The thing that puzzles me the most out of this is why she waited since November of 2002 to file her lawsuit.
Every ass in the parish seems to have an opinion of this whole ordeal and I'm no different. You may disagree with my opinion, that's okay! In fact, I don't care one way or the other. Of course you should know that by now. I have thought about this for a long time and I have tried to step back and really look at this thing and ask myself a couple of questions. Why? What went wrong? What would cause Ms. Viator to take the path she has knowing what it would put her life and her families life into. What was Judge Miller thinking?
If you temporarily remove the fact that Miller is a judge, this whole story is nothing more than a story of yet another person claiming they are a victim of sexual harassment and discrimination. You would have a couple of average people who had a relationship that turned sour and one of the parties are out for revenge, and nobody would care. Sure there would be whispers of what happened, but no media play. Ms. Viator would go about her business and so would he. Inject the perception of power and money and the whole relationship changes course. Is it unique? Hardly! It is happening with more frequency as each day goes by. Especially when money and power are the prize.
Some people like to jump up and scream that some great injustice has been done. At first I thought...Judge Miller makes decisions that effect couples with similar situations. Deciding on child support and custody is a big part of his job. Has his relationship with his secretary skewed those decisions in any way? After much thought I have come to the conclusion that in all likelihood, I doubt it. Miller, like most people knows right from wrong, and can make decisions regarding other people regardless of his/her own lifestyle. If you think about it we do it with our kids all the time. We try to teach them not to drink, not to smoke and to behave a certain way. When they turn their back, we smoke, we drink and we behave just like we want to, ignoring what we just told the kids. My point is this is human nature. A basic human reaction. I don't believe that his ability to hand down judicial decisions were compromised in any way.
As it relates to Ms. Viator's case that he supposedly ruled on? If she would have been well kept, if Judge Miller would have really bent the rules in her favor, he wouldn't be going through this because she would not risk losing it. I think Judge Miller handled her case or cases just like he did everyone elses and this was his undoing! I would be my last dollar that she resented it.
It would appear to me that, during the whole ordeal, he was in no position to demand, threaten or use his power and authority to do diddly squat as it related to Ms. Viator. When it came to Ms. Viator, he was a lame duck judge. When things unravelled, and things were heading public, she no longer holds the cards. In my opinion the Judge did not have power. Ms. Viator had it all along, and this lawsuit is what I would deem "A Last Grab". A final grab for the power she had at one time and a last grab for some money. Money she feels she is owed since her divorce.
The statements made by Viator about Miller threatening to fire her and destroying her, are hard to believe. He was in no position to make threats or demands. No guy ever is in those situations. She was! She had the power since the beginning to stop it before it ever got started. But she didn't. She consented and consented and consented.....for 10 years.
In 1994 he was encouraged to spend time with a child that allegedly was his. In November of 2002 she changed her mind. She denied access. Just like that! What happened in between? The same month the relationship ended. She quit her job. The judge helped her find another one, probably because he knew in the back of his mind that she still held all the cards. A mere 8 months later she decided that a grave injustice had befallen her. She was discriminated against. Nevermind that she consented for 10 years. Nevermind that she was a willing participant that encouraged, god knows what. As the relationship unravelled it is easily understood how the work environment unravelled with it.
Why did it take 8 months? My thoughts are that 8 months is about how long it takes to build your case. Gather your ammo. She had a plan and played it out. It was all pre-meditated!
Ms. Viator stated that at one point, when she tried to break things off, Judge Miller
stuck a gun in his mouth and cocked it.
This is a statement that, if true, speaks volumes. It is proof positive, to me anyway, she
held all the cards. She had all the power. She was in complete control. He knew it and all
he could do, with all his power as the 31st Judicial District Judge, was stick a gun in
his mouth. It was the only card he had to play, because she held all the rest. Her
admission to this proves just how weak he was at that moment and for the duration of the
relationship.
If he was as vicious as she said he was, or he did all the things she said he did....he
would have stuck the gun in HER mouth!
I believe his vulnerability, his weakness and recognition that he had no where to turn
showed up at that moment. Now that the relationship is over and the families have been
wrecked, and everything in the open, she is now as weak as he was. It's a level playing
field.
Sexual harassment lawsuits, along with discrimination lawsuits are a tool for "real" vicitims to use. It is a tool for the victim who does not welcome the advances and does nothing to be discriminated against. It should not be allowed to be used by willing participants, when things go awry. It should not be allowed to be used as a revenge tool. That's all I see here. Revenge!
The victims in this ordeal are the child, Miller and Viator....In that order. Miller and Viator, victimized themselves and each other and neither are due any compensation for it. Neither are bonified victims. If the child is his, he should be allowed visitation rights. She is due child support. They will still have to have a relationship of sorts. It appears she is attempting to burn all those bridges...because you see it's all about REVENGE!
Of course I don't have any facts and I don't really know shit from Shinola so that's just my distorted opinion. But you have to admit, it kinda makes you go hmmmm!
I would hope that both families could get past the scandal and the hate, and the revenge and go back to being families. That's unlikely but worth hoping for. Is Judge Miller a hypocrit? Yep! Is Ms. Viator a hypocrit? Yep!We all are in one fashion or another. Their level of hypocrisy is no greater than my own.......or yours!
Joe