Lowering the Bar

UPDATE: "Bulletproof" Reposa Gets 90 Days for Lewd Gesture

Justice was swift -- and pretty harsh -- for Adam "Bulletproof" Reposa, who was cited for contempt on March 11 after gesturing inappropriately in response to an argument by opposing counsel.  Reposa allegedly rolled his eyes and made a repetitive one-handed lap-oriented gesture that is sometimes used to convey the idea that one's time is being wasted.  (According to one report, Reposa said the gesture was made "near his hip," which could be true depending on how you define "near.")

Reposa arrived at the contempt hearing April 15 to find that Judge Paul Davis had been assigned to hear the case.  Davis, who is retired (but was sitting by designation), now teaches a course on courtroom decorum for new judges, not especially good news for someone accused of violating it.  And after a hearing that (somehow) lasted four full hours, Davis found Reposa guilty of contempt.

He began his sentencing statement the next day by saying "It is my honor to uphold the integrity of the judicial process . . . ."  (Tip:  If the judge at your contempt hearing starts off like that, go ahead and have someone get your toothbrush and 'jammies if you didn't bring them, as you will be staying a while.)  Davis said that Reposa did not seem to accept responsibility for what he had done, pointing out that he had alternated between apologizing for his conduct and trying to justify it as a response to "ruthless prosecutors."

Ruthless prosecutor Randy Leavitt tried to get in evidence of Reposa's "history of misdemeanor convictions," but the judge would not allow that.  Unless they involved the same gesture, that seems like the right ruling.  He does seem to have allowed Leavitt to present evidence that Reposa has "regularly used vulgarities" when dealing with prosecutors, and that he had run a newspaper ad with the heading "DWI Stud" that apparently showed him having sex with a woman dressed like a police officer.  Odd and creepy as that is, it doesn't seem relevant to contempt of court, but there was no indication that Davis relied on the ad when sentencing the DWI Stud.

Reposa's defense lawyer argued unsuccessfully that his client should get just one day in jail, saying (apparently to his client) in closing argument that "No lawyer has the right to go into a courtroom and do what you did.  This is crazy."  Whatever the strategy was there, it didn't work; Davis sentenced Reposa to 90 days in jail.

Reposa called the sentence "fair" as he was being led away in handcuffs, wisely choosing not to repeat his earlier gesture.

Link: Austin American-Statesman

Elvis's Pretrial Conference Goes Poorly

Tip: if appearing in court for a pretrial conference in your criminal case, it is best to present a respectful demeanor and stay relatively low-key.  One should avoid, for example, showing up dressed as a late-model Elvis Presley, complete with sunglasses, rhinestone shirt and scarf.

This may result in greater scrutiny, as it did for David Blaisdell of Nicholasville, Kentucky.  Nicholasville is in central Kentucky, about three hours from Nashville, and so not close enough to explain the Elvis attire.  If Blaisdell had driven up from Nashville for his hearing, that was also a bad idea because, as the greater scrutiny revealed, he was also drunk.  A judge-ordered test showed that his blood alcohol was twice the legal limit, which even in Kentucky is probably a lot.

Blaisdell, who is facing misdemeanor stalking charges, spent three days in jail for contempt of court.

Link: Yahoo! News
Link: When Nixon Met Elvis (a National Archives special exhibit)

Attorney Held in Contempt for Reading Maxim in Court

The WSJ's Law Blog reports today that a judge in North Carolina held an attorney in contempt last week after he saw the attorney reading Maxim magazine in court.

For those of you not familiar with Maxim, it is (reportedly) a men's magazine something like Playboy but with slightly more clothing involved.

Todd Paris was allegedly reading the magazine while waiting for his cases to be called (it sounds like he was there to ask for continuances, but that's not clear).  Judge Kevin Eddinger was hearing other cases but noticed the cover of the magazine, which Paris was reading in the front row.  He demanded that Paris come forward and bring the magazine.  According to the court, Paris apologized, "stated [that] in his view the magazine was not pornography, was available at local stores and that he did not intend contempt."  He also offered to discard it, but the judge declined that offer.  After what the WSJ described as some "banter," the judge held Paris in contempt, fined him $300, and put him on probation with a 15-day suspended sentence.

I suspected the "banter" was the real problem here, and the local paper's story confirms that.  Rather than just sticking with an apology, Paris insisted on defending the magazine and his decision to bring it to court.  He "repeatedly" told the judge that the magazine does not include nudity or pornography -- it doesn't, but that wasn't exactly  the point -- and also claimed that he had folded the cover over, which the judge said was not true.  At some point this banter escalated to the judge threatening Paris with contempt, but he did not seem to take this seriously, instead proceeding to ask Eddinger to continue his clients' cases.

A ten-minute timeout was called.

Despite having some time to think about it, Paris stuck to his guns after the break.  He asked the judge to look at the mailing label, which he said would confirm that it was his girlfriend's subscription.  He said he had taken "similar magazines" into other courtrooms and never had a problem, and then proceeded to read the judge some of the picture captions.  None of this improved the judge's mood.

The magazine was seized and identified as "Exhibit A" for Paris's contempt case.  Which, presumably, will require the judge to review it in some detail.

Link: Law Blog - WSJ.com
Link: Salisbury Post (North Carolina)

Appellate Court Agrees that Written Request to "Kiss My Ass" is Contempt of Court

In an entirely unsurprising decision handed down last month, the South Carolina Court of Appeals has ruled that indeed it does constitute contempt of court for one to send a written document to a trial judge requesting that the judge kiss one's ass.

According to the report, Judith Law, a woman in St. Matthews, South Carolina, was required to sign a judge's order revoking her probation, to which she had been sentenced after pleading guilty to burglary charges in 2003.  She admitted violating her probation and so the five-year sentence was reinstated.  Presented with the order and having to sign to show she had received it, Law did sign but also added her own flourish, namely a request that her buttocks be osculated by its author, Circuit Judge Diane Goodstein.  Although typically such a document would not be returned to the judge personally, Law allegedly asked the probation officer to do so.

Goodstein declined Law's invitation, and instead found her in contempt of court.  Law challenged that ruling, saying the conduct had not occurred in court and took place outside the judge's presence.  Appeal denied.  "No matter where Law signed the revocation order," the court wrote, "her conduct was in the presence of the judge" for purposes of contempt.  The ruling affirms Judge Goodstein's penalty of an extra 90 days in jail for Law.

This is at least the second decision to find the phrase "kiss my ass" inappropriate when directed at a judge.  The 1996 decision of Washington v. Alaimo, finding sanctions appropriate in part because of Mr. Washington's filing of a "Motion to Kiss My Ass" (also denied), is already part of Lowering the Bar's Case Law Hall of Fame.

Link: CBS News