Woman gives judge earful, lands in jail

[Mugu]

By Suevon Lee
Star-Banner
ocala.com

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.

“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.

http://www.ocala.com/article/20080715/NEWS/304629854/1025/NEWS&title=Woman_gives_judge_earful__lands_in_jail">Complete article

[NightWatcher]

1. enjoy your time in the cooler, moron

[Taverner]

2. You do not, repeat, do not call the judge an asshole

I'm sorry, even if he is, you just DON'T.

Remember that Jim Croce song:

You don't spit into the wind...
You don't pull on Superman's cape
You don't pull the mask on the ol' Lone Ranger...

And you don't call a Judge an Asshole in court.

[rateyes]

4. What a couple of assholes!

Judge and jurist. :evilgrin: :hi:

[mikelgb]

3. what a thin-skinned judge

I'd think they'd get mumbled comments all the time

[rateyes]

6. I agree.

[GreenPartyVoter]

13. True, but what don't know what else went on. Maybe she was giving him attitude all along and

that was just the straw that broke the camel's back.

[aspergris]

5. what a colossol moron

and no, you don't have free speech in a judge's courtroom. He has a responsibility, and the authority to match, to ensure order, civility and decorum within a courtroom.

If you want to criticize the judge, you are free to use free speech - write a letter to the editor, petition for his sanction/removal, go to the town commons and call him an idiot, publish a website saying he's an idiot, etc. The choices are endless.

It's a venue issue. You can criticize the judge, but not to his face IN the courtroom.

[cobalt1999]

9. Ding, ding, ding...We have a winner.

On the upside, she probably won't have to serve on the jury now.

[aspergris]

11. she achieved her objective ! n/t

[wuushew]

7. I have a mental picture of the judge from "My Cousin Vinny"

n/t

[IntravenousDemilo]

8. The word is "asshole", as in "My name is Sarah Muller and I'm an asshole."

They could have saved a lot of ink at the Star-Banner if they'd just written, "the 23-year-old insulted the presiding judge by calling him an asshole" and not "the 23-year-old insulted the presiding judge by calling him a two-syllable curse-word -- a crude term referring to the anus...".

At any rate, I believe the judge was right in this case. You don't call a judge an asshole in his courtroom just because you don't feel like doing your duty as a citizen.

[backwoodsbob]

12. ding ding ding a winner

part of a democracy is doing your civic duty.

Calling the judge an asshole because you got picked is a way of screaming *please throw me in jail*

[east texas lib]

10. They's some people yew jus' cain't reach.

;(

[XOKCowboy]

14. LOL I've been to both and...

Ocala is a lot like East Texas. Or OK where I'm from. :)

[onethatcares]

15. oh no, not florida again,

why am I not surprised? banghead icon here.

[TlalocW]

16. Stupid. This is how you get out of jury duty

You act like a stupid redneck and when the judge comes in you say, "It's 2 in the afternoon, judge! What the hell are you still doing in your bathrobe?"

TlalocW

[NoGOPZone]

17. That might work

The article said she tried the "I'm a racist" line, but was denied. The only time I've ever heard people admit they're racist is trying to get out of jury duty.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

18. LMAO What A Dumbass She Is.

Freedom of speech she says. What a hoot!

:rofl: