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?"

[Ladysmith]

(BTW, is there a prohibition against posting the entire article?)

There are for quite a few news sites. Newsday is one of them. Some you're not allowed to post at all.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1111944/posts

[Countyline]

People are jerks who foist their phone ringing on others in all sorts of posted places that request them to be off. They are the jerks that answer and talk to the disturbance of others.

Get over it. Phones are a nuisance in certain places and environments. Hurray for the Judge.

[Mo1]

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

It's a little strong sentence .. but he did warn her

[orangelobster]

see post #205 for the last word on the subject. I'm not in the suction pump camp on this.

[exnavychick]

Millions enter our country illegally, at will, routinely, and the government stands winking and nodding yet the government, ie: Judges, law enforcement, congress etc demands and forces us to pay billions for this lawlessness, or else we are sent to jail too.

Do you not see a broken picture here? Do you not see the ultimate, glaring hypocrisy here?

__________________________________________________________

Somewhere, a dead horse is whimpering in pain. Please. They have an illegal immigration thread elsewhere, FYI.

[Oztrich Boy]

It's sickening to see this slavish obeisance to authority figures that some people on this thread apparently have.

Cases differ. If the article had identified him as a Democrat, he wouldn'r have a tenth the supporters here for his power trip,

[Joe Hadenuf]

They have an illegal immigration thread elsewhere, FYI.

Yes, lets all ignore the fact that our government, along with their agents, ie: Judges, congress, law enforcement demands and forces us to pay for this epic invasion, at the point of a gun as they confiscate our tax money to pay the the titanic coast to coast invasion of our country, as they stand winking, nodding and smiling.

BWAHAHAHAHAHA....Try burying your head a little deeper.

[exnavychick]

I am not ignoring the threat, I am simply stating that I don't believe that your example --repeated over and over, though I admire your zeal--is doing your argument any good. It's a bit off the topic...we are discussing whether or not the girl's behavior was inappropriate and/or if the judge's reaction TO THIS INCIDENT was over the line. It is not a discussion about whether or not immigration laws are being enforced properly. That discussion is taking place in several other threads where your points could be discussed in that context. Please, do not accuse me of burying my head when you don't even know what my opinion is, thanks.

[1rudeboy]

Law, says the judge as he looks down his nose,
Speaking clearly and most severely,
Law is as I've told you before,
Law is as you know I suppose,
Law is but let me explain it once more,
Law is The Law.

Yet law-abiding scholars write:
Law is neither wrong nor right,
Law is only crimes
Punished by places and by times,
Law is the clothes men wear
Anytime, anywhere,
Law is Good morning and Good night.

Others say, Law is our Fate;
Others say, Law is our State;
Others say, others say
Law is no more,
Law has gone away.

And always the loud angry crowd,
Very angry and very loud,
Law is We,
And always the soft idiot softly Me.

--W.H. Auden

[ApplegateRanch]

In a courtroom, you do what the judge says - or face the consequences.

Yup. Them judges and the mullahs, they have lots in common; they strive to fit the punishment to the crime.

21 days for a ringing cell phone; 85 lashes for breaking a VOLUNTARY Ramadan fast.

Take a look at what persistent adults get for upsetting a judge; usually overnight, or at most, a weekend cooling their heels. Rare instances, we hear about a week.

[oceanview]

are you kidding me? real criminals don't do 21 days for real crimes in this country - they plea it out for probation. and you want someone to spend 21 days in jail for a cell phone, because some uppity judge is "offended" by the ringer?

she will sue the county in civil court, and win a settlement.

[Publius6961]

Jerks are people who think rules don't apply to them.
If you haven't figured that out, good luck to you.

[4.1O dana super trac pak]

Actually, a lot of people are missing the point that the judge sentenced her 'on the spot' to 21 days in jail. Starting right then. Her drug trial concluded the next day, where she was given 45 days, which she will serve concurrently.

Newsday is on the excerpt list, I have a rule of thumb of typing the first four paragraphs.

[JesseHousman]

Mariela Acevedo

Perhaps she couldn't understand English.

[Publius6961]

Anyone who doesn't know where the "off" button on a cell phone is, shouldn't be allowed to have one.

[JesseHousman]

And you, Lobeter, should refrain from making asinine, sophomoric comments.

[JesseHousman]

I'm positive that Lobster is in the wrong place and is an 18-year-old high school sophomore.

[Ladysmith]

She responded, "No. I thought I had turned it off."

Nyah, it's pretty clear she does.

[orangelobster]

"Jerks are people who think rules don't apply to them.
If you haven't figured that out, good luck to you."

I couldn't agree with you more. The judge does not believe the rules apply to him and I suspect that the judge is in for some harsh judgement from his peers as well as an overturning of his ruling in a higher court. The most interesting part of the article is the end -

"Clark declined to discuss whether sentence was appropriate, but said Suffolk Administrative Judge H. Patrick Leis III and Madeline Fitzgibbons, supervising judge of the district court, "are aware of the proceeding and are reviewing the matter."

-snip-

"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."