At 12:27 PM 1/13/2002 -0600, Ronn! wrote: <snipped> >Also on this topic, when a defendant repeatedly interrupts his trial by >shouting out in court, the judge has the option of having him restrained >(shackled to the chair) and gagged (so he cannot shout). Comments?
Listmembers who are old enough may remember the trial of the Chicago 8 (later to become the Chicago 7, when Black Panther Bobby Seale had his trial severed from the rest) back in '69 or '70. After the riot at the 1968 Democratic Convention in Chicago, 8 radicals were indicted by the local District Attorney for inciting to riot. During that trial Bobby Seale continually interrupted the trial by shouting at the judge, calling him "a fascist dog", "pig", "racist" and other invective. The judge had Seale bound and gagged, eventually sentencing him to 4 years for contempt of court and severing his trial from the rest. Supporters of the defendants seized upon this action and claimed that it was impossible to get a fair trial in "Amerika". The Seventh Court of Appeals reversed all convictions on appeal a few years later. The appellate court based its decision on the refusal to allow inquiry into the cultural biases of potential jurors during voir dire as well as the judge's "deprecatory and often antagonistic attitude toward the defense." The court also noted that it was determined after appellate argument that the F. B. I, with the knowledge and complicity of the trial judge and prosecutors, had bugged the offices of the Chicago defense attorneys. The Court of Appeals panel said that it had "little doubt but that the wrongdoing of F. B. I. agents would have required reversal of the convictions on the substantive charges." Guess the protesters were wrong. john
