Judge duct tapes a man

[fireheart17]

http://www.news.com.au/adelaidenow/s...006301,00.html

Mostly because the defendant wouldn't shut up during the trial.

[tabbyblack13]

He was warned should have listened. I personally think the guy deserves it.

[Greenday]

Did he deserve it? Definitely.

Is it ethical? No, not really. Probably should just have held him in contempt of court and thrown him in jail to be processed later on.

[Slytovhand]

I dunno... did he actually deserve it? I read all of a couple of lines which basically said that he wasn't happy with his lawyer.. and the judge refused to appoint another one...

What's wrong with that?

Harkens back to the 'rich get better justice than the poor' if you ask me!

As for the 'ethics' of it.. the bailiff should have known better.

I don't know about Canton, Ohio, but over here, that would constitute assault.

No - I don't think judges and the legal system should be treated like gods, why do you ask???

[BroomJockey]

Actually, having the defendant gagged if they refused to behave wasn't uncommon. Not done much the past few years, but you'd hear it threatened every once in a while. Was it needed or right in this case? I don't care. First rule of the courtroom: Don't piss off the judge.

[Greenday]

I dunno... did he actually deserve it? I read all of a couple of lines which basically said that he wasn't happy with his lawyer.. and the judge refused to appoint another one...

What's wrong with that?

He was duct taped shut because when the judge said no, he would not shut the hell up so they couldn't proceed.

[Slytovhand]

So, now in reality, the question comes down to - did the defendant have the right to have a new lawyer? If so, then the judge was seriously out of line.

And, I'm pretty sure that under the legal system, everyone has the right to choose who their defence will be - yes??

And BJ, I'll just explicitly state - judges and the law aren't sacrosanct.. if the judge is doing wrong, then the judge is doing wrong.

Greenday, as the lawyer person on here, can you find out whether such an act (duct taping someone's mouth) is actually a form of assault?

[MaggieTheCat]

Hmm...it sounds like the defendant had been given a court appointed lawyer and he wasn't pleased with said lawyer. He had every right to get another lawyer...by paying one to represent him. From what I gathered from the article, the defendant was expecting the judge to give him another court-appointed lawyer. Problem is, you don't always get to pick and choose everything you want in life, especially if it's cheap or free. You want cheap clothes? Go to Good Will, but there's no guarantee you're going to get a nice suit or a dress. If you want better, you have to pay for it. It is a case of "the rich get better than the poor" I guess, but society has been like that forever. The people with more money have more to offer so the better services are given to them in exchange. I don't know if it's right or fair, but that's the way it is.

I guess what I'm saying is that the defendant had a chance to get his own lawyer if he wanted to pay for one, but he probably didn't, so he got a court appointed lawyer instead and was complaining about it. So the judge shut him up for disrupting court. I agree with the judge for reprimanding the defendant, although I agree with whoever said the judge should've just found him in contempt right away. The duct tape move just amuses me.

[Peppergirl]

Ah, Canton.

This surprises me not.

[DrFaroohk]

From the article, it says the judge warned him. Right there pretty much makes his whole case. He didn't just randomly decide "Oh hey, I'm gonna tape this guys mouth shut." He warned him and then the idiot kept talking. He walked right into it.

It's like with my stepson: "If you hit the cat with your lightsaber one more time, you don't get to watch any TV tonight. Do you know what that means?"

"Yep, it means no more hitting Tigtig with my lightsaber. I know what you mean."

Within 5 minutes, <MEEEEEEEEEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOWWWWWWWWWWWWWW!!! !!> I turn and see the cat being assaulted with the goddamn lightsaber. So he loses TV. Then acts like it was some awful form of injustice.

[BroomJockey]

And BJ, I'll just explicitly state - judges and the law aren't sacrosanct..

And I'll explicitly state - who gives a fuck? If the judge says shut up, you SHUT UP. There is absolutely no way on this planet that continuing to protest will ever go well in the short term, and probably not in the long term, either. It's about not being a complete, motherfucking moron in this case. If you really, desperately need a new lawyer, then you find out how to do so. After the trial's recessed for the day, you do something like call the clerk's office, or something like that. Yammering in the middle of the court room, after you've been told to be quiet is just about the stupidest thing you can do.

[Greenday]

Greenday, as the lawyer person on here, can you find out whether such an act (duct taping someone's mouth) is actually a form of assault?

Ooh, lawyer person. I like it. One class on the rules of court and certain other legal procedures and I've become a lawyer person. Yay!

The defendant has the right to ask for a different lawyer. However, the defendant doesn't have the right to actually be given a different lawyer. If the judge feels the lawyer is competent enough, the judge can deny the request. If you can afford your own lawyer (which isn't the case here), you can have whoever you want defend you. If you can't, you can have one appointed to you by the court (which is the current case).

As for what the crime would be, I'm certain the bailiff could be charged with something as he's the one who actually did the duct taping. Whether it's assault or not, I don't know. Not sure what the judge would be charged with.

[DrFaroohk]

It reminds me of My Cousin Vinny, where the judge is like "Guilty or not guilty?" "well actually my client thought he was being arrested for something else..." "Guilty or not guilty?" "Well my client thought..." "GUILT OR NOT GUILTY!?!?"

[DesignFox]

I'm extremely amused by this. I guess that's one way to get an obnoxious person to STFU in court.

I love the movie My Cousin Vinny. hehehe.

[Flyndaran]

Moron plus egocentric judge is never a good combo.
Personally, I would want my disagreement with the lawyer's competency taken down for a possible incompetent defense/mistrial whatever rather than pissing off the judge.
If your mom hits you, whining to her about it isn't going to do any good. You tell your father or other adult what happened and sit quietly until then.