Pastoral Care and Traffic Law Sentencing

An Ohio state appellate court has upheld the imposition of zero fines and community service handed out by a municipal court judge. The appellate decision is available here. After imposing community service, the judge stated the following:

In March, Curtis, a former pastor at Cleveland's Cory United Methodist Church, was cited for running a stop sign. He soon struck a deal with Cleveland prosecutors and agreed to plead guilty to a lesser charge - operating an unsafe vehicle - and pay $150.
Municipal Judge Marilyn Cassidy did Curtis one better. She waived the fine and court costs and instead sentenced Curtis to community service. And noting his job, Cassidy ruled the pastor's daily duties would satisfy the punishment.

This decision is interesting, not for First Amendment purposes, but for the fact that one's employment constitutes community service. A pastor's daily duties, however noble the judge may find them, are not punishment; the imposition of this "community service" does not serve the deterrence or retributive functions. I find it hard to believe that an appellate court would uphold this nonsense if this was a DUI conviction.