Scarlet Bumper

"It's like having my client pilloried in the courtyard every Tuesday from noon to 5," protests Defense Attorney Phillip Prosch. Not quite, but his client and a dozen other offenders in Sarasota County, Fla., do indeed face a modern version of public humiliation: red stickers on their cars' rear bumpers that read CONVICTED DUI. The initials announce that the miscreants have been driving under the influence. County Judges Frederick De Furia and Becky Titus began pasting drunk drivers with the stickers two weeks ago. During the six-month period of the sentence, offenders are permitted to drive only for work purposes. Most ordered to display scarlet bumpers have done so. But several have appealed, arguing that the judges have exceeded their sentencing authority. "We've lost our sense of shame in this country," responds Judge Titus, "and humiliation as punishment is valid." The Puritans would have applauded.