For the second day in a row, Judge Robert Ruehlman threw someone in jail and cited him for contempt for cussing in the courtroom.
It was an accused gang member Wednesday. On Thursday, it was a private attorney in a non-criminal case.
Michael Brautigam was before Ruehlman representing himself in a contentious civil suit he had filed against his North Avondale condo association and other condo owners in the building who are represented by Cincinnati attorney Peter Koenig.
Brautigam lives at Rose Crest Condominiums in the 700 block of Clinton Springs Avenue. He sued, accusing the condo association of not properly taking care of the building and asked a judge to force it to fix the roof and make other repairs.
Brautigam, who is an attorney but isn't licensed in Ohio, asked Ruehlman for more time to file documents. Ruehlman gave it to him.
As Koenig and Brautigam turned to walk away from the judge, Brautigam called Koenig "a (bleeping) liar."
"He used the famous F-word," Koenig said. "(Ruehlman) asked Mr. Brautigam if he said that."
Brautigam admitted he had and had directed it at Koenig.
Ruehlman cited Brautigam for contempt and sent him to jail for six months.
"I had to give him six months because I gave the other guy (on Wednesday) six months," Ruehlman said.
Jamel Sechrest was before Ruehlman in a Wednesday hearing with four other accused members of the "Taliband," a gang police say has terrorized Northside and its residents by selling drugs and committing other crimes.
Sechrest, unhappy at having to wait until Feb. 2 for a trial - and sitting in jail until then - muttered "That's (bleeping) bull (bleep)."
"You don't say bull (bleep) in the courtroom," Ruehlman told Sechrest before citing him for contempt, sentencing him to six months in jail.
Koenig was surprised at being the recipient of Brautigam's curses.
"Judge Ruehlman absolutely did the right thing by attempting to maintain order, civility and decorum in his courtroom. Attorney Brautigam has been discourteous and disrespectful to judges, lawyers and litigants in our community on more than one occasion," Koenig said.
Does this qualify as a violation of the 1st Amendment?
33 comments:
I think that this that the punishment in this case is very overblown. receiving six months in prison simply for muttering and obscenity seems like a very unfair punishment. Also i believe calling something like that contempt of court is a little bit of stretch. Either way, six months in prison is much to steep a charge for such a benign and irrelivent action.
I dont think that this is a violation of the first ammendment. This is a certain level of respect that is asked of you in the courtroom, and cussing is not part of that quota. He shouldn't have cussed at the judge and by doing so he deserved to be punished.
i don't think it qualifies as a violation of the first Amendment. The private attorney was being very vulgar. Hilarious story though.
Isn't there some kind of stipulation as to what is actually protected by the first amendment? Speech-wise that is. I mean, you can't scream "fire" in a crowded building, and you're not allowed to say anything that's meant to incite a riot... or something like that.
I'm not sure if that is extended to curse words, but this does seem pretty excessive and ridiculous. Even if use of obscene language in public places were explicitly forbidden (which I don't think it is?), six months in jail is an absurd punishment.
Really. Community service or something I might vaguely understand, but I don't see how this is classified as "contempt of court".
Ugh, weird.
Its alittle harsh to get six months of jail just for saying the f word in a courtroom. I think its definetly a voilation of our free speech. People do worse things like assist in murders and posess drugs and they could probly get off with a sentence of six months. The only reason he sent two guys for jail was because the 1st guy said the f word and the judge couldnt let the guy who said it the next day get away with it. Pretty pretty harsh.
I feel that it doesn't violate any laws at all. The first amendment guarantees you, that you can speak your mind, but it doesn't say that you can't be punished for it, especially if what you are speaking could, or is intended to incite public outrage. That is deemed to be non-protected speech.
Yes, this is a violation of the 1st amendment. Even though this is the case, the government reserves the ability to take away your rights, including your freedom of speech, especially in a courtroom.
okay if they sent people to jail for cussing, 99.99999% of the US would be in jail. Since when are we restricted of words?!?!?!
I don't believe this was a violation of the 1st ammenment rights, but does cussing in a courtroom really warrent 6 months in jail? Seems a little extreme to me.
While a judge has the right and ability to maintain order in his courtroom, I don't think that saying the F word should constitute 6 months in prison. The definition of maintaining order differs from person to person but judges need to remember that dependents and prosecutors in court have a lot of emotion invested in their cases. Sometimes it is hard to keep that emotion in check and judges need to give these people some leeway. Personally, I don't think that this is a violation of the first amendment because the judge has his own definition of maintaining order in a courtroom. However, this judge should have given Mr. Brautigam a warning instead of a full fledged 6 months sentence.
This definitely qualifies as a violation of the first amendment.
Unless there was pre-stated rule that in that courtroom the use of curse words was prohibited there is nothing wrong with people saying them.
This is ridiculous-just because the judge was offended he sentences someone to six months in jail!
Freedom of Speech just doesn't really exist anymore does it?
I think that it is...I think that the judge should have atleast given him a warning and if he said it again then thats when he takes charge. Six months for dropping the F-Bomb I think is over doing it but im not a judge so i guess thats not my decision.
I think that is a ridiculous thing to be put in jail for. Granted, cussing in a court room is pretty immature as well but it certainly doesn't warrant six months in prison. I think that judge is really abusing his power by doing that and if that's what it takes for him to keep "civility" in his courtroom, then he probably needs to find a different job. What Brautingam and Sechrest said was definately uncalled for but they didn't break any major laws that deserve six months in prison.
i think that this is an enteresting case. i think that it should be looked into whether it was a violation of the 1st ammendment. i personally find the F word very offensive, but i dont think that it should earn you 6 months in prison, otherwise the whole USA would basically be a prison.
I think that it is a violation of the first amendment, but i think that the judge was right in what he did because such an act as dropping a bomb in court is sheer disrespect to the court and the judge himself. I do, however, think the judge should have been much more lenient on the sentence, maybe sending him to jail overnight or something.
No because the guy knew he was in court & that he needed to be polite & civilized. That anything he would say would go against him.
I believe that it is not a violation of the first admendment. Because he must learn to ect her courtroom but i do understand whee the could get that this is a violation of freedom of speech. But it is not like the judge is asking him not to talk at all she just wants him to act in a respectable manner.
Even if he trys to get this as taking away one of his rights he will end up losing because he was harassing the judge.
Americans get the opportunity to state their case in court, have a lawyer represent them, and be tried by a fair judge. That's getting to express freedom of speech right there. If one side messes up their case by misconduct like cussing, then it's their own fault. That's how they represented themselves and disrespected the defendent/opponent, judge, and everyone else present. 6 months is too harsh of a punishment but a smaller punishment should be enacted.
WASHINGTON (CNN) -- President-elect Barack Obama will nominate retired Gen. Eric Shinseki to be secretary of Veterans Affairs, two Democratic sources said Saturday.
Shinseki infuriated some Bush administration officials in the runup to the Iraq war when he told Congress that it would take "something on the order of" several hundred thousand soldiers to achieve a successful military presence in post-invasion Iraq.
Shinseki has never spoken publicly about his testimony, which has often been cited by critics as evidence that Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld ignored the advice of one of his key generals.
But as Army chief of staff, Shinseki was not in the chain of command and played no direct role in drawing up the war plans.
Pentagon sources say that, in fact, Shinseki never advocated higher troop levels for Iraq, in part because it was not his job to do so. And sources say that just before the invasion, when asked by Joint Chiefs Chairman Richard Myers whether he agreed with the war plans, Shinseki voiced no objections.
Shinseki retired as Army chief of staff in June 2003.
Like Obama, Shinseki was born in Hawaii. He was the first Asian-American to reach the top spot in the U.S. Army.
When a gallery to honor Shinseki was opened at the U.S. Army Museum of Hawaii in 2006, Shinseki was humble while addressing the audience.
I do not think that the punishment was a violation of the first amendment of the right to free speech because the courtroom has formal rules of conduct that apply to everyone regardless of social status. I feel that the punishment of a six month sentence was a little over the top.
i think it's fair. you cant give on child 6months for cussing without giving another child 6months for cussin. it wouldnt be right
In my opinion, I think that this does qualify as a violation of the first amendment. Under the first amendment we are guaranteed the freedom of speech, and any act that retricts that rght is a violation of the amendment. Even though the f-word isn't appropriate to use in any situtation, there still shouldn't be any legal punishment for using it. People should be able to express their thoughts freely no matter how kind or rude they may be.
This is complete bull [bleep]! I understand that, while in court, you are to remain respectful to the judge, but this does seem way over the top. On the other hand, attorneys who badger the witness and continue to poke and prod can also be found in contempt. But even then, the judge warns the attorney and gives he or she a chance to hold their tongue. Losing control in a court room is understandable. And when one swears to tell "the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth" they should be allowed to explain their side of the story in whatever verbiage they see fit, so long as it is truthful. I see this as a violation of the first amendment, and think that the guy should be sentenced to washing his mouth out with soap at the most.
This is just silly.
Had he used an equally insulting term that is more appropriate i.e. "dumby" or "brat" he would be stating his opinion openly, and not be found in contempt. Because the judge found the used term offensive, he acted on personal values instead of the law.
I think six months is a little overboard for just a curse word. I don't think saying that word should be considered contempt of the court, for it neither disrupts nor delays the process of a court hearing. Brautigam is a idiot, though. He is a lawyer. He is in court. He should know better.
While it may a judge's duty to keep the courtroom an orderly place, he or she does not have the mere power to punish people for cussing. On top of that, i think giving a guy 6 month just for that is also unfair and ridiculously unjustified. If a judge were to condemn a person for inappropriate languages, the judge himself should say so ahead of time. It probably does violate the first amendment rights because people are only trying to express their concerns and let out their angers when they cuss. Its almost like another form of self expression. I think we should be able to have that in courts without having to pay for it afterwards.
bon5@sbcglobal.netI think that the judge was wrong, and I believe that it was violating his first amendment. I also understand that the judge was trying to keep order in the court room, but Brautigam called Koenig a (bleeping) liar just to him. He didn't say it out loud and didn't say it to the judge. Six months is too long for using a curse word in the court, it’s just not reasonable.
This is an unfortunate situation. I think it may be somewhat petty and unneccessary of the judge to assign six months to the first guy and simply inevitable for the second guy but they are in his courtroom and have to follow his rules. He has every right to put these guys in jail but the fact that he exercises this right in such a frivolous manner is disturbing. So no- this is not a violation of the first amendment right. These guys were fully aware of their actions and now they have to face the consequnces. The judge was just trying to maintain order.
I don't think this is a violation of the 1st amendment.
Just like how a referee can pull flag on a player who is being ornery, so can, I believe, a Judge.
Judges have a very dignified job and their decisions are vital for the general public and their safety. Police officers are just as unforgiving when they are on duty. If the law is to be upheld, it must be somewhat feared. However, there have been man times when police officers have gone to far in being fear-mongers, for this I criticize them.
But...I don't know if 6 months is really a fair sentence. It seems a little too extensive.
That's a rather nasty punishment for merely using vulgar words in a courtroom. I think it is a violation of the first amendment, and that they should not be punished merely for vulgar words (though I agree they could use slightly better languange than what was said).
I think that he shouldn't have got 6 months in jail for saying that in the court room but I think he should have gave him a fine for saying that in the courtroom.
I really do think that it is kind of a violation of freedom of speech. He just said the f word, come on people its a bad word yea but who doesn't use it or any other word! But then again he was in a court room and you do have to follow the rules of the court room and use better language so i guess he probably deserved it, but not 6 months that's a little harsh
I don't believe that it violates the first ammendment at all. If you think you're brave enough to start cussin' up a bluestreak in court' then go ahead see if your luck tests out. I hope you like your cell.
Wow! Totally ridiculous, yes there is a certain amount of respect and courtesy we all know to be requested of us in court, however, 6 months in jail is far beyond a reasonable sentence. I mean really? Just exactly what lesson will be gained if not how to use a few more curse words and a loss of even more respect for authoratative figures...
Post a Comment