Judge Linda Karlin is a New York State Supreme Court judge known for imposing maximum sentences for even minor crimes.
History[]
Karlin was a former assistant district attorney and current judge living in Forest Hills, Queens, with her husband John. Her overzealousness, especially with drug-related crimes, earned her the nickname "Judge Dread", and pushers began printing her image on drug envelopes as a warning sign. Due to her attitude, she was constantly threatened and had to have bodyguards. While presiding over the case of Randall Wylie, a white-collar criminal charged with three counts of fraud, she rejected a plea bargain offered by the prosecution, hoping to impose the maximum sentence of 45 years. Later, after Wylie's wife Janice traveled to the Cayman Islands, she interpreted it as a risk of fleeing and sent Wylie to prison pending trial, which enraged him and Janice.
At Rikers Island, Wylie met fellow inmate Jimmy McGowan, who told him he had to find a way to get rid of Karlin, or else she would ruin his life. Panicking, Wylie reluctantly agreed to discuss a hit with a criminal named Frank Morris, but in the end, he refused to carry on with it. When Morris threatened his family to silence him, Wylie decided to not report the hit. A week later, Morris attempted to shoot Karlin in front of the Manhattan Municipal Building, but he was killed by her bodyguard. Later, Karlin was called on the stand to testify against Wylie and protested with interim DA Lewin when she decided to give a plea bargain. (L&O: "Judge Dread")