'Shame' Punishments Like Ponytail Cutting Increase Unconventional sentences that shame defendants - such as walking through town with a humiliating sign or sleeping in a doghouse rather than in a jail - appear to be steadily increasing. And this disturbing trend, according to one legal scholar, is turning state courts into circus shows. The most recent example occurred in Utah when a 13-year-old girl went to court for cutting a 3-year-old girl's hair into a bob with dollar-store scissors, said Jonathan Turley, a professor at George Washington University. "These are punishments that often appeal to the public and bring a type of instant gratification for the court," he said. The teen and her 11-year-old friend were referred to court for the March incident involving the toddler and for harassing another girl in Colorado by telephone. The judge agreed to cut back community service time if the mother of the teen chopped off her daughter's ponytail in court. The mother has since filed a formal complaint, saying the judge at the May hearing intimidated her into the eye-for-an-eye penalty. "I fail to see how the court reducing itself to the level of a 13-year-old teaches a moral let alone legal lesson," Turley said. The court was doing precisely what the 13-year-old did to a child. Turley, who has written extensively on how shaming undermines justice, said the sentence conveys the wrong message. In this June 6, 2012, photo, Valerie Bruno holds a photo of her three daughters as she poses for a photo outside the Carbon County Court Complex in Price, Utah. Bruno said she has filed a complaint with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission against 7th District Juvenile Court Judge Scott Johansen for telling her to cut off her daughter's ponytail in court to reduce the 13-year-old's required community service at the May 2012 hearing. (AP Photo/The Deseret News, Geoff Liesik) Close The use of arbitrary and capricious authority is not what this girl needs to learn. The court is showing her he can do to her what she did to other people," Turley said. KSL-TV initially reported the story after the teen's mother, Valerie Bruno, of Price, Utah, obtained audio of the juvenile court hearing and shared it with the reporter. Bruno said she has filed a formal complaint against 7th District Juvenile Judge Scott Johansen with the Utah Judicial Conduct Commission. The commission said it is barred from commenting on whether a complaint has been filed. It only becomes public if disciplinary action is taken against a judge. Bruno told the Deseret News that she felt intimidated into following through with the judge's suggestion. The 11-year-old also was ordered to get her hair cut short but was allowed to go to a salon. Bruno was put on the spot in court and ordered to cut her daughter's hair all the way "to the rubber band" after the victim's mother said Bruno had not sliced far enough. Mindy Moss, mother of the toddler, told The Salt Lake Tribune she originally called police about the malicious haircut because she feared the girls' behavior could become more serious. The older girls had apparently befriended the toddler while playing at a McDonald's, then used a pair of scissors purchased from a nearby dollar store to cut off several inches of her hair. KSL said surveillance video at the McDonald's helped identify the 13-year-old. She was ordered to serve 30 days in detention and to perform 276 hours of community service - which Johansen said he would reduce by 150 hours if the ponytail was cut in his courtroom. "Not to make excuses for the girl but ... feeling intimidated by the court is a very common response," Turley said of the mother's complaint. Many feel they are not in position to refuse these types of demands.