The book? No.
Throw the whole stinkin' law library at her.
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.
It also doesn't hurt to study up on any local cases coming up. That way you'll be prepared to demonstrate your enthusiastic competence to judge them.
But what works best is to pick the right date. In Massachusetts, you get to reschedule your service for any date within a year of the date they picked for you. So, the last time I was up, I rescheduled for the day before Memorial Day weekend. The day after Christmas would have been even better, but I was going to be out of town then. Even so, I was out of court by lunch time.
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.”Um... W.C. Fields (as the judge, of course) and Mae West. I think the movie was "My Little Chickadee" but my memory ain't what it used to be so I could (likely) be wrong. It was a classic scene, tho...
Lol! That is sweet!
I can only imagine being in the jury room deliberating with her. Oh my ears are burning thinking about that.
If I served on a jury and felt that some of my fellow jurors were too stupid for jury duty I’m afraid I would have to vote not guilty due to the fact the defendant could not get a fair trial under such circumstances....justifiable nullification.
12 people of sound mind are supposed to weigh the evidence.
Really? I only got $30 last week for my one day of jury duty.
The last time I was called for jury duty, in 2005 IIRC, one of the first things they asked the room was 'do you speak english' - and immediately dismissed about 15 people who said they didn't.
Welfare and voting should work so well.
Myself I figured I would just cut out the middle man and quote “Hang em’ High”....”If we don't hang em and hang em high, then people will say there's no justice in this here town and take the law into their own hands.” That would get me out of jury duty! ;)
Actually my boss served on jury duty a few years ago. He is a very busy guy, but takes his civil responsibilities seriously. I was relieved they had an employed and intelligent member of the jury to depend upon. They returned a guilty verdict on manslaughter charges.
My dad said nothing like spending a little time in jail to make you a die hard hang em high Conservative. EVERYBODY there is guilty. Perhaps not for the crime they were charged with, but certainly for something, and most of them know they belong there. My dad figured he didn't want to belong there anymore and so began to live his life accordingly.
Myself I figured I would just cut out the middle man and quote “Hang em’ High”....”If we don't hang em and hang em high, then people will say there's no justice in this here town and take the law into their own hands.” That would get me out of jury duty! ;)
Actually my boss served on jury duty a few years ago. He is a very busy guy, but takes his civil responsibilities seriously. I was relieved they had an employed and intelligent member of the jury to depend upon. They returned a guilty verdict on manslaughter charges.
My dad said nothing like spending a little time in jail to make you a die hard hang em high Conservative. EVERYBODY there is guilty. Perhaps not for the crime they were charged with, but certainly for something, and most of them know they belong there. My dad figured he didn't want to belong there anymore and so began to live his life accordingly.
That's how I got out last time. The prosecutor asked whether anyone knew about jury nullification and I was the only one to raise my hand. He asked me what I knew about it and I spoke long enough that he asked if I was sure I was on the right side of the railing. Needless to say I didn't get picked.
And I didn't even get to the good parts about the difficulties of enforcing the fugitive slave act in the North prior to the Civil War because of getting an abolitionist or two in the juries and other early cases of jury nullification America and England.
ping
Its been my experience that most juries are made up of retirees and public employees who get paid their regular salary to sit in court. Its just a nice few days away from the office to them.
True, but who wants to waste the time to go sit in court until you get your turn to plead conservative to the judge? ;)
Oh man that's good!
Could have resulted in a mistrial though.
The book? No.
Throw the whole stinkin' law library at her.
Not a flame, but when the animals in the barnyard who are more equal than others share in that same responsibility that comes with freedom and take the same financial hit as the rest of us animals who are just merely equal, then I'll take the time to make an effort to serve.
Until then, society will have to be satisfied with the time I spent in the service as payment for the freedoms we enjoy.
She'll be all right. She is going to apply for SSI. Taxpayers will be able to do the right thing and support her for many years. /s
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