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"F-Word in Court Equals Six-Month Prison Term"

By Douglas A. Berman

The title of this post come from the delicate headline of this entry at the WSJ Law Blog, which effectively reviews a recent little ruling from the DC Circuit.  Here are the basics (with decorum preserved by the WSJ editors): When does brusque behavior in court cross the line into criminal contempt? It was an issue explored yesterday in this D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ruling, which either strikes a note for court decorum or hampers free speech, depending on your perspective. At issue in the case is none other than the F-bomb.  At a criminal sentencing hearing last year, a defendant (who was not identified in the opinion) evidently was displeased about the sentence he received, exclaiming in court: ?F*** y?all.? The trial judge immediately found the defendant guilty of contempt for ?uttering a profanity at me in my presence, in my sight, and in a calculated way...continue to full post

Full post as published by Sentencing Law and Policy on December 29, 2010 (boomark / email).