Actually I think OJ said thank you Satan..
the hawaiichannel.com
A state judge on Friday refused to apologize to a man he put behind bars for shouting "Thank you, Jesus" in his courtroom.
Junior Stowers awaited the verdict in his domestic abuse trial last week. A lot was at stake for Stowers. As an immigrant, if he was convicted he could be deported and could lose his position as a youth volunteer at his church.
The judge was Patrick Border. Gov. Linda Lingle appointed him two years ago.
Just before the verdict was read, the judge whispered a warning to the attorneys.
Dialogue from the trial: "No displays of emotion one way or another by anyone in the case. You understand?" Border said in court.
Dialogue from the trial: "We, the jury, in the above entitled case find the defendant not guilty," the jury foreman said.
"Thank you, Jesus!" Stowers exclaimed.
"You be quiet. OK, we will be in conference after that," Border said.
"He wanted to apologize, and the judge cut him off and didn't let him apologize," Kwock told KITV on Friday.
Dialogue from the trial: "May I approach the bench, your honor?" Stowers said.
"No, you may not," Border said.
"Your honor, he just wants to apologize," Kwock said.
"Well, I think I had earlier alerted counsel, and I had in previous cases," Border said. "This kind of behavior, outbursts are not permitted."
The supervising public defender, Ronnette Kawakami, said she was shocked to see the judge order Stowers locked up.
"He was placed in handcuffs in front of his family, in front of his family and taken down to the cellblock for nothing other than saying, 'Thank you, Jesus' in a loud voice," Kawakami said.
Six hours later, Border defended his action.
"It was observed within my presence. It was behavior that was more characteristic, more applicable for the swap meet or a major contest," Border said.
Stowers remained in custody for four to five hours.
A week later, Border dropped the contempt charge, agreeing that Kwock didn't have a chance to warn her client before the verdict. On Friday, Border refused to make any other comment or offer an apology.
Stowers told his lawyer he is not looking for an apology. He said he just wants to get on with his life.
As for Border, except for the reappointment process that comes around only every 10 years, there is really no mechanism in Hawaii for judging the behavior of judges, KITV reported.
No, I wouldn't like to ban Christmas, just make sure it's secularized in government and public schools.
Are judges necessarily intellectuals? It sounded to me more like some pretentious old crank's hamfisted way of expressing disapproval at what he considered coarse and uncouth behavior. A petty and utterly lame reaction, for sure...don't know that it strikes me as intellectual though.
