Judge jails courtroom over ringing phone
A US judge has been sacked for jailing an entire courtroom audience after none of them admitted responsibility for a ringing phone.
Judge Robert Restaino was presiding over a domestic violence case in the city of Niagara Falls, reports the BBC.
A commission on judicial conduct said Judge Restaino had acted "without any semblance of a lawful basis" and behaved like a "petty tyrant".
The judge has said he was under stress in his personal life at the time. He has 30 days to appeal against the commission's decision.
In its ruling this week, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended the removal of Judge Restaino for "two hours of inexplicable madness" in March 2005.
It said the 48-year-old judge had been presiding over a series of domestic violence cases when he heard a mobile phone ring and "snapped".
"Every single person is going to jail in this courtroom unless I get that instrument now," he told the courtroom's audience, according to the commission.
When no-one came forward, the judge ordered that the entire courtroom audience of 46 people be taken into custody and set bail at $1,500.
The audience and defendants were then taken to Niagara City jail, where they were searched and packed into crowded cells. Fourteen people who could not post bail were later shackled and transported to another prison.
The judge's lawyer, Terrence Connors, said he would exercise his right to appeal the decision within 30 days. He will remain in office during that time.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2616717.html
A US judge has been sacked for jailing an entire courtroom audience after none of them admitted responsibility for a ringing phone.
Judge Robert Restaino was presiding over a domestic violence case in the city of Niagara Falls, reports the BBC.
A commission on judicial conduct said Judge Restaino had acted "without any semblance of a lawful basis" and behaved like a "petty tyrant".
The judge has said he was under stress in his personal life at the time. He has 30 days to appeal against the commission's decision.
In its ruling this week, the New York State Commission on Judicial Conduct recommended the removal of Judge Restaino for "two hours of inexplicable madness" in March 2005.
It said the 48-year-old judge had been presiding over a series of domestic violence cases when he heard a mobile phone ring and "snapped".
"Every single person is going to jail in this courtroom unless I get that instrument now," he told the courtroom's audience, according to the commission.
When no-one came forward, the judge ordered that the entire courtroom audience of 46 people be taken into custody and set bail at $1,500.
The audience and defendants were then taken to Niagara City jail, where they were searched and packed into crowded cells. Fourteen people who could not post bail were later shackled and transported to another prison.
The judge's lawyer, Terrence Connors, said he would exercise his right to appeal the decision within 30 days. He will remain in office during that time.
http://www.ananova.com/news/story/sm_2616717.html
Comment