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A law blog by Robert Lombardo on The Whole 9

Attorney Robert Lombardo came from the creative world and then began practicing law in 1995. The diversity of his professional life (years of which were spent in Europe, Australia and Japan) gives him a unique perspective on the law. Currently Robert is focusing on entertainment law (which encompasses nearly all creative industries) and brings this firsthand experience and desire to make the law accessible to the The Whole 9 community.

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Courtroom Humor?

May 7, 2010
5 Comments (see all)

A 19-year-old woman, still dressed for the gym in a T-shirt and sweatpants, is asked by a friend at the last minute to give her a ride to court.  The woman then accompanies her friend into the courtroom and sits in the gallery to wait for her friend’s case to be called.

Unfortunately, the judge doesn’t think the slogan on the woman’s T-shirt – “I own the pussy, so I make the rules” – was funny and calls the woman to the bench to ask her if she thought the T-shirt was appropriate.

Apparently, the woman tells the judge that the T-shirt would have been inappropriate if she had been the defendant.

The judge thinks otherwise and holds the woman in contempt.  She is handcuffed and immediately incarcerated.  She was eventually released after an overnight stay.

You can read more of the story here – but I doubt that is the whole story.

You are the judge.  What would you have done?

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5 comments (see all)
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  1. biko

    I once had a client who showed up in court with the slogan “a woman’s place is on my face” written on his T-shirt. Fortunately, I had him put on a hoodie before the judge (female) spotted him.

  2. awaken2sun

    I have had the misfortune of spending some time in court over the past few years as a witness. I have seen how incredibly bureaucratic the entire process is and how, although our “justice” system may be one of the better ones, it’s still incredibly bogged down and difficult to get anything done in a timely manner. People are shuffled to and fro along with prisoners and plaintiffs and I shudder to think of the costs to provide lodging and board for all of the accused while their cases grind through the system.

    That being the case, I can’t imagine why a judge would resort to such extreme measures and agree that asking the woman in question to leave the courtroom or turn her shirt inside out would have been the appropriate response. I do believe that the judge should be reprimanded in some way for this.

  3. dangerousideas

    I read stuff like this all the time where judges act in vindicative, tyrannical and sometimes almost clinically insane ways. Is there no accountability for this type of behavior on a judge’s part? Does the power they wield go to their heads and turn them into petty dictators? Or have they just had to deal with one too many disrespectful low-lifes bringing their attitudes and bs into the courtroom (and I’m talking about some of the lawyers here too)?

    On the surface, this judge’s actions seem extreme and inappropriate, but there could be more to the story. Maybe the woman made a scene or gave the judge a lot of guff or refused a request to change the shirt or leave (seems unlikely though, since he could have had the deputies enforce the request)

  4. theredhead

    I just read the article and she was actually in there for TWO days! What the?! I thought for sure that this was going to be in some rural area of South Carolina or Mississippi, not in the Suburbs of Chicago! While I don’t know where Round Lake Park, IL is, I guess they don’t practice freedom of speech (or shirt). Wow, I can’t believe she was jailed for that and I agree with awaken2sun — dismissing her would have probably been the more appropriate action.

One Trackback

  1. By Coffee Makers Guide on June 8, 2011 at 10:35 am

    Evergreen…

    Wow, amazing weblog structure! How long have you been blogging for? you made running a blog look easy. The whole look of your web site is excellent, let alone the content!…

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