A penalty too harsh? Tooele woman sent to jail for text messaging in court
You’re not allowed to have cell phones in courtrooms in Utah unless you’re a court official or attorney. Anytime you enter a courthouse, there are signs telling you this.
Still, a Tooele woman who was sent to the court by her husband to represent him in a debt collection case is in jail now, and will be there for a 30-day sentence, because she took a cell phone into the courtroom and used it to send text message updates to her husband.
She was arrested on charges of being in contempt of court.
Now, she broke a rule, but it’s a rule that many break. During my days as a court reporter for the paper, I’d see people with cell phones in the courtroom all the time, and on a few occasions I’d even sneak mine in. As long as you made sure (this is very important) that the phone was on silent and wouldn’t ring, you’d generally be OK.
I can understand the disruption that can come from having a cell phone in the courtroom, especially if it rings. It is a completely avoidable nuisance, but I just have a hard time seeing a 30-day sentence for this. What do you all think about this case?
h/t: “Hurricane” John Newbold
Source: ksl.com – Woman sent to jail for texting in court.
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Apr 29th 2009 • 13:04
by Rich Okelberry
Better turn yourself in Tyler! I personally feel that unless the court needs to protect the identity of a minor child, every court session and public meeting should be open to cameras and outside communications all long as it does not disrupt the proceeding like with flash photography. It is always good to have our government as open as possible.
Apr 29th 2009 • 13:04
by David
Having read the story I can see how the judge or the palantiffs might object to the content of the email, but I still think that the sentence is too harsh unless they had found that the husband was taking action to hide those assets (there’s no indication of that in this case). If I were the judge and wanted to set an example I might order her to jail for a day or two. Maybe if I were having a hard day I might give her a week, but really, this is not worth more than 48 hours in jail, and that is only because of the content of the message.
She should probably have stopped at “It doesn’t look good for you.”
Apr 29th 2009 • 14:04
by Tyler Riggs
Good points, David. The content is problematic, but still, if we’re to assume that the purpose of jail time is to punish or rehabilitate, we’ve got a problem here. This is a woman who isn’t a criminal and really doesn’t need rehabilitation, and certainly more than a day or two or jail time is enough reasonable punishment.
Apr 29th 2009 • 16:04
by Voice of Utah
I agree that the sentence seems out of proportion, especially considering less harsh sentences for more serious offenses. However, in fairness to the court, it should be noted that it likely wasn’t the act of texting but the content of the text — which could be read as a warning to her husband to hide an asset — that irritated the judge.
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Apr 30th 2009 • 16:04
by American Woman Jailed for Texting : Committee to Protect Bloggers
[...] According to KVNU radio, an unnamed woman from Tooele, Utah (U.S.) was arrested on contempt charges for texting her husband from a courtroom, where she was representing him in a debt collection case. Use of mobile phones in courtrooms in Utah is not allowed, though frequently happens anyway. [...]
May 4th 2009 • 07:05
by D Stancil
No phones in couurt means that. In Coffee County Al. If your phione rings
or you text. The judge will give you a 5 day jail time or $500.00 fine
and can have the deputy remove the phone frome the courtroom.
Jun 28th 2010 • 21:06
by Tony B
A fine, guys, a fine! NOT a 30-day jail sentence, depriving her children of their mother for THAT length of time! My god! has the world gone completely MAD?? Some judges need to come down from their “Ivory Towers” and consider the impact of their decisions on the lives of others….!!