Posted on 07/17/2008 12:56:53 PM PDT by buccaneer81
Woman gives judge earful, lands in jail Obscene outburst nets Sarah Muller contempt charge in jury selection
By Suevon Lee Star-Banner
Published: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 6:30 a.m. Last Modified: Tuesday, July 15, 2008 at 5:35 a.m. OCALA — A Summerfield woman said she blurted without thinking a couple choice words for a county judge during jury selection at the Marion County Courthouse Monday morning—ones which had landed her in jail by the end of the day.
ALAN YOUNGBLOOD/STAR-BANNER Sarah E. Muller comments on her case during an interview at the Marion County Jail.
click to enlarge Judge R. James McCune, Jr. listens to attorneys in 2006 in Summerfield. Jannet Walsh/Star-Banner/File
“Sometimes I get upset and I say things,” Sarah E. Muller said during an interview with the Star-Banner at the Marion County Jail Booking Center late Monday afternoon. “I didn’t know I would go to jail for freedom of speech.”
Faced with the prospect of serving as a juror and upset that County Judge R. James McCune Jr. denied her request for dismissal, the 23-year-old insulted the presiding judge by calling him a two-syllable curse word—a crude term referring to the anus — within earshot of several of the other 178 potential jurors seated in the Jury Assembly Room.
When the judge asked Muller to clarify her remark, Muller repeated it. He charged her on the spot with direct criminal contempt of the court — a second-degree misdemeanor— and Muller was promptly handcuffed by a court bailiff and taken into custody.
At a hearing later in the afternoon, McCune sentenced Muller to three days in jail and ordered her to pay court costs and fines.
“I was very upset that my excuse that I needed to go to the doctor was not as good an excuse as a lie,” she said later, referring to the judge’s decision to dismiss a woman standing ahead of her in line. If that woman, Muller argued, could escape jury duty by claiming she did not speak English well, how come she couldn’t be removed for health reasons?
She had come to court alone that morning, she said, severely irritated that she had to spend money on gas getting there, rather than the clinic to apply for Social Security disability.
Muller, who is unemployed, said she was born with a leaky valve in her heart and has had four previous heart surgeries to treat it.
“I can’t waste my money on gas to come [to court] and be able to go to the doctor at the same time. Gas ain’t cheap,” she said.
Muller is even more broke than when she arrived at court: She owes the court $50 and the Public Defender’s Office $183 for the brief counsel Assistant Public Defender Hisham Shanawany provided at the hearing.
Muller was the first to hop in line to ask that she be excused by the judge following qualifications Monday morning.
She cited poor health and the need to visit a doctor.
Finding no urgency in her situation, McCune denied her request for dismissal and ordered her to take a seat with the rest of the jury pool.
That did not deter Muller, who re-entered the line and this time, threw in the claim that she was “a racist,” in efforts to cast herself as someone unable to be a fair and impartial juror.
“I just didn’t want to do jury duty. That’s the best excuse there was,” Muller said later.
McCune denied her dismissal once again, at which point Muller insulted him.
During the hearing, McCune called two witnesses to testify about the incident: Deputy Clerk of Court Tonja Leek-Snyder, who was seated beside McCune and witnessed the entire exchange, and bailiff Larry McLemore, who had arrested Muller.
“How in the world did you think that running your mouth in such a foul, profane way would be appropriate in court, of all places?” McCune asked Muller. “Did it even dawn on you that you were already here and you might as well make the most of it?”
Muller apologized to the judge as tears streamed down her face.
“I’m very sorry for calling you that. I did not know it was illegal, and I did not mean to cause disrespect,” she said.
Muller added that cursing was “a very bad habit” of hers and that she was feeling upset, sick, and very broke.
“I’m very poor, and I barely have any money at all,” she protested. “I do not appear to be sick, but I am internally sick.”
On her charge, Muller could have faced up to six months in prison and a $500 court fine.
Muller was sobbing as she was led away to be fingerprinted following the judge’s sentence. When she turned back to face the judge, who remained seated at the bench, his hand cupped in his chin, she asked: “Is there any bond for that?”
“No,” McCune replied.
“I really wasn’t trying to make him look like a fool,” Muller said later. “If anybody looked like a fool, it was me for saying it. But it don’t matter now, because he already put my ass in here,” she said.
As for advice to others trying to avoid jury duty who don’t want to end up in jail, she advised: “Don’t say any cuss words at all. Maybe even ‘damn’ will get you kicked out.”
Suevon Lee can be reached at suevon.lee@starbanner.com or 352-867-4065.
Place me among that portion of the population for which “contempt of court” is a defining characteristic.
That said, I do know when to keep my trap shut. I’d be that fellow who, when asked “are you attempting to display contempt for this court?” would reply “no, sir, I’m attempting to conceal it.”
The last time I was in jury duty the excuses and lies were blatant. Glad she got 3 days and she needs more.
Just wear an NRA Life member tie.
You’ll be out the door quicker than spit.
Her problem is that she waited until she got before the judge to try to get dismissed from jury duty. Once you're in the courtroom, it's too late. They've got you hooked.
I think that there is more to this story and another side, but it would have been a lot better if she hadn’t said what she did. Sometimes, you have to wait to vent.
The woman is obviously on the public dole big time and she can’t be inconvenienced by a little public service? What a piece of work...
How does a person that can't speak English become a citizen and be picked for jury duty?
When you are being questioned during voir dire, start to speak at length about jury nullification and the right of a jury to acquit if they disagree with the law.
You'll be out of that courthouse and on the way back to your car so fast your head will spin.
Stupid is as stupid does.
I wonder if she has to get back in the jury pool when she gets out? Hehehe.
Good one.
You just have to better pick your opportunities. Initial screening may not be the best time.
“Three days was too little for this woman’ arrogance.”
....yep, and she’s only 23 and already a smart mouth...thankfully she didn’t made the jury...how’d you like to be a crime victim and have somebody like that let your perp walk?...it happens every day.
My dad was once called in for jury duty in front of a judge who liked to ask stupid questions. Her question that day to the jury pool was “have you or a member of your family ever been arrested.” When my father answered yes she asked him to extrapolate. He said “Do you mean just me or my entire family? Just arrested, or actually charged and convicted? Every member of my family? Every time they were arrested?” The judge was about to get into it with him when the prosecutor said they didn't need him and let him go. Their mistake! My dad's judicial philosophy is from the movie “Hang Em’ High!” and he is somewhere to the right of Attila the Hun.
This woman actually thought it was OK to call a judge “a$$hole” to his face in open court?
“Hello, Charles Schwab? I’d like to place a short sale of CIVILIZATION. 10,000 shares.”
LOL!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I’ve seen people try a lot of ways to get out of Jury Duty... but you know, I cna’t understand ANY of them (except perhaps being terminally ill or seriously ill or something.... if you can drive yourself to the doctor and don’t need an ambulance, I’d say that’s not a good enough excuse)
I get out the old fashioned way. Just don’t show up.
I work for a living and I can't be inconvenienced by a little public service, either.
When judges, lawyers, clerks, cops, etc. have to do their public service for as little money as they pay us civilians, then I'll start doing jury duty again.
Until then, defendents will have to make do with folks who are too stupid to get out of jury duty, like the woman in the story.
The last time I was called I openly carried a copy of the U.S. Constitution with me.
I was one of the first people sent home every day.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.