I definately think the judge is nuts, but I can see some of his point. You are responsible for you kids and anything that happens on your property.
For instance, I am responsible for anything my tenants do, even though I live 45 miles away, according to the city courts. I do try to get it passed onto the tenants, but as the property owner, I am still somewhat responsible. Yeah, nuts. But they figure that they can scare me a lot easier, since I have a lot more at risk. The tenant can just move if they want, and I still own the building.