Woman jailed after cell phone disrupts courtroom

Charlotte Observer ^

[RadioAstronomer]

Sure. Why not?

He forgot to put it on vibrate. Have you ever made a mistake?

[templar]

In courtroom, Judge is absolute dictator.

You're English may not be perfect (it is good, though), but your understanding of the courtroom is.

There is no democracy on the floor of the courtroom.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

In courtroom, Judge is absolute dictator. Can jail anyone for contempt under Anglo Saxon common law.

Wrong. A person charged with contempt still is required to have an opportunity to be heard, and the right to appeal. And there are still prohibitions against, for example, cruel and unusual punishments, excessive fines and bail and the like.

[templar]

If we could only get rid of the morons, we'd live in a perfect world.

Unfortunately it's the morons that usually end up in charge of things. Peter principle or something akin to it.

[Stew Padasso]

Let me clarify, I am sure the judge would have understood if the guy beat the crap out of the cell phone user. Probably would have given him a little community service and a pat on the back.

[ErnBatavia]

I usually tank up on refried beans the night before.

But if the menu doesn't permit, there's always this:

[Libertina]

Gad, of all the typos I could have made ... ;)

[Stew Padasso]

Better yet, conceal one of these doodads in his courtroom and watch the sparks fly:

[Stew Padasso]

Hey, you beat me to it. Scary.

[AppyPappy]

I've even seen people ANSWER the calls and walk out of the theater while yakking away on it.

I wonder if she started talking on it. It's not that unusual. Some people are obsessed with answering a phone, no matter what.

[Willie Green]

We are all in here together, & there is something wrong with someone who goes off, in the extreme, at the sound of a bell.

If it were a single, unique, isolated incident, I'd agree.
But it's not, as you are well aware.
It is an increasingly frequent discourtesy that we all experience.
It is actually quite normal that some people will occasionally reach the point where they have to scream "ENOUGH". Nothing "wrong" with them at all. The actual offense was committed by the patron who rudely neglected to turn off the cell phone. I see no reason to excuse them for such negligence.

[Batrachian]

Fart machines are all well and good, but you lose the "3 dimensional" effect, and what about the deaf? Don't they have a right to enjoy, too?

BTW, I was in Coachella on 9/11/01. You're FR homepage reminded me of it.

[anncoulteriscool]

Good....these cell phone yappers think they're so much better than everyone else. Its about time some one layethed the smacketh down all over their cell phone yapping self consumed candy arse! LOL!

[anncoulteriscool]

****Does she also use her cell phone while she's driving those three school-aged children around?****

Yep. She probably does and she drives 30 mph on a 50 mph road in the 2nd or 3rd lane when she does it while hitting gher brake lights every 5 seconds fro no apparent reason. GEEEEEEEEEEZ!

[Ditter]

We will have to agree to disagree. The Judge was with in his rights to get angry & reprimand her, but jail was too much. The man in the theater ..... uh...... did you happen to see Northfork at the Angelica Theatre on Aug..... uh..... oh never mind. ;9}

[trussell]

I agree. The person at least had the sense to sit in the back of the theater.

Some people dont have the liberty of turning their phones off. Should they have to give up ever seeing a movie, or sitting in a restaurant, or anything else where people might be annoyed by their ringing phone.

I know it's not you who is being unforgiving about this, but it was easier to respond to your post than to each of the others individually.

[Batrachian]

"So that's how you are spending those unemployment checks."

I don't get unemployment checks. They cut me off years ago.

You must be quite simple in the head to actually believe this. Or maybe you just lack a sense of humor. If I was unemployed and didn't bathe I wouldn't be here, would I?

Do you want to exchange paystubs? But then maybe we'd find out that you're the one who's unemployed.

[luckystarmom]

That's a snip. If she's with her children, she doesn't need to use the cell-phone. If she's away from her children, she needs to stay in contact.

Maybe they were at home by themselves while she was on jury duty.

Of course I think it is much better to have the phones on vibrate, but mine can accidentally be changed over to ring mode by hitting a button on the side.

[Timesink]

Right. That's plain megalomaniacal abuse of power. If it's so important that this man's workplace is absolutely silent, he should warn people. If it is absolutely critical that such devices are not used, then he should spend a lousy $400 and buy a jammer which will ensure that his precious courtroom is as silent as one of Joseph Stalin's.

Believe it or not, those jammers are illegal in the United States. It doesn't stop people from buying them of course, but federal law is that nobody can jam a legitimate, FCC-licensed radio transmission, and that's what every cell phone call is. And it's not a good career move for judges to openly violate federal law; it's one of the few things that can cause them to be removed from the bench.