Judge orders defendant's mouth taped shut

[Nagishkaw 510]

POCATELLO, Idaho – An eastern Idaho judge who lost patience with the disruptive behavior of a defendant ordered court officials to tape the man's mouth shut with duct tape during a court hearing. The unusual move was ordered by 6th District Judge Peter D. McDermott during a probation violation hearing for Nicklas Frasure, 23.

Frasure was convicted of felony theft in 2008, but the judge retained jurisdiction for sentencing depending on Frasure's response to treatment. In October, Frasure was released from a state mental hospital in Blackfoot.

He is accused of violating his probation by not taking prescribed medication.

During the hearing, witnesses told the judge that Frasure's behavior had been strange and erratic since his release from the state hospital. They also said he has not been taking his medication and has been consuming alcohol, factors also contributing to mood and emotional swings.

Probation officer Julie Guiberson testified that Frasure is a threat to himself and others.

During Monday's hearing, Frasure interrupted the proceedings with repeated verbal outbursts and unusual behavior and ignored several orders from McDermott to restrain himself. After another series of outbursts, McDermott told bailiffs to silence Frasure.

The bailiffs then found a roll of duct tape, tore off a piece and put it over Frasure's mouth, according to the Idaho State Journal.

"He's obviously not mentally competent," Frasure's lawyer Kent Reynolds told the judge.

Earlier in the hearing, Reynolds had asked the judge to order a mental competency evaluation for Frasure.

McDermott said he would consider the request, but did not immediately rule on it. McDermott placed Frasure under the jurisdiction of the Idaho Department of Correction. He is being held in the Bannock County Jail awaiting transfer to a state facility. Officials, citing privacy rules, declined to say where he would be transferred.

An Associated Press call for comment, left with the Idaho Judicial Council, was not immediately returned Tuesday. The council investigates all complaints filed against Idaho judges.

The American Civil Liberties of Idaho refrained, for now, from commenting on McDermott's decision to silence Frasure.

"The ACLU of Idaho cannot comment on the specifics of this case," said Monica Hopkins, executive director. "However, on one hand judges have a right to keep order in their court and on the other the defendants have a right to assist in their own defense and be present at trial. Our hope is that judges employ the least restrictive manner of keeping order in their courts."

At the end of the hearing, the judge ordered bailiffs to remove the gag and said he hoped Frasure's condition would improve with being under state custody.

Frasure responded, "You want to arm wrestle?" as he was led out of the courtroom by bailiffs.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090422/ap_on_...iiqykFYaLHtiBIF

[Amby 490]

[justucia 0]

Frasure responded, "You want to arm wrestle?" as he was led out of the courtroom by bailiffs.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Wow! The ACLU did not want to weigh in? Amazing.

[almaty 19]

Though your brother's bound and gagged

And they've chained him to a chair

Won't you please come to Chicago

Just to sing

In a land that's known as freedom

How can such a thing be fair

Won't you please come to Chicago

For the help that we can bring

We can change the world

Re-arrange the world

It's dying ... to get better

Politicians sit yourself down

There's nothing for you here

[Peikko 1,575]

The judge is an ####.

[Trumplestiltskin 5,791]

It sounds rather like when Charlton Heston was stripped and gagged during the "trial" in Planet of the Apes.

[The_Dude 1,142]

Usually the judge will just have the defendant removed. I've seen this before, and the judge will face punishment for it.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Usually the judge will just have the defendant removed. I've seen this before, and the judge will face punishment for it.

Exactly --- the judge acted like an arrogant chopfvck. Abuse of power.

[GaryC 7]

Don't they usually have a room with a TV monitor for the defendant in it for instances like this? He could see the proceedings but not disturb them. That way he could rant all he wanted and not disturb the court.

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

"The ACLU of Idaho cannot comment on the specifics of this case," said Monica Hopkins, executive director. "However, on one hand judges have a right to keep order in their court and on the other the defendants have a right to assist in their own defense and be present at trial. Our hope is that judges employ the least restrictive manner of keeping order in their courts."

[I AM NOT THAT GUY 5,715]

Unruly defendants who disrupt trials are very rarely literally gagged in modern courts. However, the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld the constitutionality of the practice in cases where a defendant is particularly disruptive. In Illinois v. Allen, 397 U.S. 337, 90 S. Ct. 1057, 25 L. Ed. 2d 353 (1970), the Court affirmed that gagging or binding the defendant, or removing him or her from the courtroom, does not violate the Confrontation Clause of the Sixth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which holds, "In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right … to be confronted with the witnesses against him." According to Associate Justice Hugo L. Black, who wrote the Court's opinion,

http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Gag+Order

Edited April 22, 2009 by Mister_Bill

[Nagishkaw 510]

The judge doesn't know how to deal with people who suffer from mental illness.

[almaty 19]

somewhere..bobby seale is having a flashback

[Nagishkaw 510]

What about Eldridge Cleaver?