Girl, 17, jailed for ringing phone

Newsday ^ | Rick Brand

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

A ringing cell phone landed a 17-year-old Patchogue girl facing drug charges in a jail cell this week after an angry district court judge sentenced her to 21 days for contempt.

Mariela Acevedo of 21 Hammond St. incurred the wrath of District Court Judge Salvatore Alamia on Tuesday. As she awaited her hearing, an electronic device went off in Alamia's Central Islip courtroom and he warned everyone to shut off all cell phones and pagers or face contempt charges.

"If you don't know how to shut it off, go outside and introduce it to the heel of your shoe, he said according to a transcript.

When Acevedo's phone subsequently sounded, Alamia called the teenager forward and asked, "Did you think I was playing with you?"

[BlackbirdSST]

The arrogance of some of these tax paid government employees is beyond belief.

Right on Joe! This kind of thing really brings out the statist here as well !!!Blackbird.

[orangelobster]

"No doubt that she would have been better off leaving the cellphone outside the courtroom. "

There are cheap electronic devices that can jam cellphones. If this judge is such a peevish jerk about cellphones he should have pushed to have these installed in the courtroom instead of treating 17 year olds like dirt. These devices will disable cellphones from reception and ringing.

[firebrand]

Richard Barbuto, past president of the New York State Association of Defense Lawyers, wouldn't say whether 21 days was excessive for contempt, but added, "If that sentence was used to coerce a plea in another case then I'd hope that someone in the Suffolk County judicial system would take a close look."

This seems to be the reason Newsday thought the story was important, since they put this guy's quote at the end.

[stands2reason]

Don't assume my position on immigration because I'm not the one whinging.

[WRhine]

The judges, congress, the President, law enforcement, mayors, they are all innocent, and have nothing to do with this epic lawlessness. Yet if you fail to pay your taxes, to pay for this epic lawlessness, you can be damn sure, they are coming after *you* with force.

Joe, it's interesting to note that many of the posters defending this out of control judge are the same ones that support and defend our government's open borders agenda and all the lawlessness, crime, fraud, and mayhem associated with it. Apparently Party affiliation trumps all common sense and sense of fairness.

[Dust in the Wind]

"There are cheap electronic devices that can jam cellphones. If this judge is such a peevish jerk about cellphones he should have pushed to have these installed in the courtroom instead of treating 17 year olds like dirt. These devices will disable cellphones from reception and ringing."

Paper for signs and the spoken word are cheaper. The judge gave everyone the benefit of free choice.

If you choose to play in the bull ring you better expect to to get some on you. . .

[paulat]

"Why? He said turn it off! " because he's a jerk.

orangelobster...August 30, 2004...all you need to know....

[paulat]

Don't assume my position on immigration because I'm not the one whinging.

What on earth is "whinging"?????????

[stands2reason]

Whining, but way more annoying. With a soft "g".

[asgardshill]

You know how many times I have shut off a cell phone and it either came right back on and I accidently failed to fully depress the button?

Then you are either incompetent or need to read your owners manual again. It is child's play to turn off a modern cell phone. It is very clear when my cell phone is turned off - the display turns off. As in dark, no light, no display, no nuthin. I've had it for 3 years and it has never, ever "come right back on".

This GD arrogent tax paid judge is an AH who should not be where they are. This is down right scary sh*t.

Nonsense. He is responsible for maintaining order in his courtroom. The brat failed to believe him when he told everybody to turn off their cell phone (which he is entitled to do in his courtroom), and she paid the price as a result. Bravo to the judge.

[asgardshill]

I can't believe, after 270 some-odd posts, that nobody has said ...

Can you hear me now?

[orangelobster]

"orangelobster...August 30, 2004...all you need to know...."

paulat...content free argument...all you need to know...

[paulat]

I looked it up...Thanks!!!...the something new I'm supposed to learn every day!!!

[paulat]

"orangelobster...August 30, 2004...all you need to know...."

paulat...content free argument...all you need to know...

Ha HA!! GOTCHA!!

[brianl703]

"It is child's play to turn off a modern cell phone."

As if the older not-so-modern ones are hard to turn off?

My Motorola bag phone (circa 1995, I still use it) has a button marked "PWR". Push it once--no need to hold it down, and it's big enough that you don't need to use the tip of your fingernail to press it--and the phone turns off right then and there. None of this "Powering Down....." message with a 10-second wait while the phone does god-knows-what (it's not like it has hard drives it needs to sync, or something) before it finally turns itself off.

[asgardshill]

I used to have one of those bag phones. My doctor told me to get rid of it - I crushed the metatarsal bones in my right foot when I dropped it there one day ;)

Your point is correct though - the old phones were also trivially easy to turn on or off.

[brianl703]

There are logical, rational reasons for opposing illegal immigration that have nothing to do with "race" or "mexicans".

My experience is that those people who think others are opposing illegal immigration for those reasons of "race" and "mexicans" often have quite soft positions on illegal immigration, sometimes to the point of condoning it.

If you are not one of those people, I appologize.

[Paridel]

I always keep my cell phone on vibrate. However I've have let people borrow it from time to time to make a call, and sometimes they see fit to change my ring tone from vibrate to "crazy chicken" or some other obnoxious tone. Not realizing of course that changing the ring tone on my phone takes it out of vibrate.

So I have had times when I have been in a library, class, or lab and had my phone go off. I quickly silence it, but yeah, it's happened. Man, what an idiot I am for being nice and letting people use my phone. Anyway, I can take a joke, so I don't mind to much, but I have seen people get really abusive when a phone rings where it shouldn't. Not to me fortunately.

Judges aren't the only group of power hungry individuals in this country... I know a lot of professors who will throw you out in a heartbeat if your cell phone goes off in their class. Of course that is almost always an accident, but it doesn't matter to them. I won't take a class from someone like that, assuming I understand before hand that is how they treat their students, but unfortunately you often don't realize that until too far into a course to drop or change it. But tossing people out for not turning off their cell phones doesn't seem to be too effective, cause it will keep happening right up till the end of the semester. A new victim each time though. ;-)

Anyway, forgetting to turn off your cell phone is often an honest mistake. And even if someone was warned about it I can see giving them the benefit of the doubt that they thought it was silenced. So sure, it is a little irritating, for about 3 seconds until someone turns off their phone. People are human, they make mistakes, and I find people that harp over the minor ones more disruptive to society than those making the mistakes.

When my cell phone goes off in a place it shouldn't I'm embarrassed, which I'm sure is the reaction most people have to that situation. That is incentive enough for me to be more careful next time, and I certainly don't need someone being a jerk about it.

-paridel

[Dante3]

Good for Alamia.

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

Oh man, you just ruined my evening:)