Judge jails entire courtroom over ringing phone
 

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

Haha. I can just imagine being the guy with the phone. "What's he gonna do, throw us all in jail?"

Damn right he is. I bet the fucker feels bad now. The judge is definitely the larger of the two idiots, though.

We all have bad days.... good thing he doesn't work for Xerox or the Post Office.

:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh:1orglaugh

Indeed! :1orglaugh

In cases like this, there should be a provision for the state to shun responsibility for lawsuits and place it on the person so responsible. I hope the judge winds up paying the verdicts of all the people who sue the state due to his stupidity.

power tripping at its best?

good for the judge :thumbsup

:1orglaugh

BBC did a much better report on this topic, by the way. As usual. Foreign media often reports domestic affairs much more throughly.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7116426.stm

Yeah, the wholesale violation of the civil rights of an entire group people is a good thing. You fucking idiot. You're proof that - contrary to what some like to assert - there were plenty of idiots on this forum back in the good 'ole days of 2001 as well.

If I were one of the people arrested, I'd make damn sure that the judge was held accountable for such stupid actions. Hell, a bunch of people now have criminal records who probably did not have them before that day. Fingerprints on file, subjected to invasive search. Its a great lawsuit, I hope plenty of people filed.

Reminds me of school days. "I can sit here as long as it takes, we're all staying back until someone owns up"

I would be insanely pissed if I was one of the innocent people locked up. That judge could count on a very large and drawn out law suit from me, especially if I missed Oprah. :1orglaugh

sad fact is the taxpayers will wind up paying all the lawsuits..

it is amusing but imagine you had a child at home waiting for you, or a loved one in the hospital.

i wonder if this judge is buddies with that judge that sued the dry cleaners for like 50 million for wrecking his pants

Unbelievable... :disgust

Most judges are power hungry as it is. This one just let his appetite show.

Meh. Obviously JAILING everyone is out of control, but all someone needed to do was fess up or point out the person whose phone was ringing. There had to be at least three people in there who knew who it belonged to or knew where the ringing was coming from.

Frankly I think it's fucked up that people have so little respect for what happens in court that they leave their stupid little devices on or at the very least aren't apologetic when their personal bullshit interrupts courtroom proceedings. The fact that the cell phone owner was willing to let everyone suffer such crappy consequences, wrongly meted out or not, rather than step up and admit it was his or hers, is more disturbing, I think. I don't get why people aren't more mad at that person than the judge.

The judge should have just fined everyone.

this is a publicity stunt ..

:thumbsup

Lol, that's just insane!!

TRUE. And very sadly in some states they will have to go through proceedings to get the arrest expunged. And that costs money.

The Xerox shootings weren't done by an employee as far as they know.

Welcome to Earth... results not typical; your experience may vary.

Sometimes Judges make very bad mistakes...silly man :1orglaugh