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.
Just reading this interview was enough to tell me she was too ignorant and emotional to serve on any jury.
Can you imagine your fate resting on the decisions someone like this would make???
is it my imagination or is there a high percentage of stories posted on here of dubazz’s in florida. and before someone from fla is offended by that question i myself grew up and still live in fla. i just shake my head everyday at what i hear happening in this state.
The woman sounds intoxicated and, considering she’s only 23 and appears to be missing a huge number of teeth, I assume she’s a meth addict as well.
...I was thinking a piece of something else...
Easy, because you are not required to be fluent in English to become a citizen. The English writing portion of the "test" goes like this. Write: "My name is Juan." To top it off you are allowed to have a translator with you. When I went for my test, half the room couldent speak English. This needs to be fixed. Perhaps, Juan McAmnesty has a plan for it.
MOST judges are “expletive deleted”... but being in court is not the time to voice that. The time to voice that is when (like in my state) you’re at the ballot box and the thingie says “Retain Judge So and So” you chose NO.
I'd like to ask the judge, but he'd probably hold me in contempt for "racism" or "xenophobia."
“... the judge, who remained seated at the bench, his hand cupped in his chin”
the woman, whose foot was stuck in her mouth .
On the other hand, perhaps it’s just as well that this woman isn’t on the jury. She doesn’t exactly sound as if she has the wisdom of Solomon.
Right. She thought "a-hole" was no different than "your honor".
Ha ha!
You know the threats are idle when they say, "Failure to respond to this notifice may subject you to penalties and fines.
No Job.
No Money.
No immediate ailments.
No responsibilities whatsoever.
And as far as Jury Duty,,,,, she just didn’t feel like it!
Good, I wouldn’t want her deciding ANYONE’S fate! Even her own!
Well, she could just have a really poor sense of judgment when it comes to boyfriends, you know, getting hit in the mouth a lot.
I know you’re going to LOVE this. After one takes the oath of citizenship, one gets a form mailed to one’s house asking in which language one would like voter registration information. Cool, huh? Somebody ought to remind those folks - e pluribus UNUM.
- English-speaking legal immigrant
Isn't that just what Jesse said to Obama in this morning's "apology?"
waiting...waiting...
She called him a "Michael Moore"?
Most judges are a$$holes. She probably needs to learn to keep her mouth shut though.
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