ForumGarden

Judge Punishes Lawyer Who Said 'Lord'

Attorney Is Also Minister

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. -- A testy exchange with a judge has cost a Winston-Salem lawyer his freedom and his law license.

Raymond Marshall was punished last week by Superior Court Judge Michael Helms.

Marshall represented a man who was charged with assaulting a police officer. The case twice ended in a mistrial before his client was convicted this month in a trial marked by disputes between the defense lawyer and the judge.

Marshall filed a motion on Sept. 29 to remove Helms as the trial judge, accusing Helms of intimidating him. Helms said Marshall was being disrespectful and refused to obey the court's orders.

On Oct. 4, the first day of the latest trial, Helms stopped Marshall during the questioning of one of the witnesses.

Marshall said "Lord," reared back in his chair with outstretched arms, cast his eyes upward and turned to the audience, Helms said.

The lawyer -- who is also a minister -- said he was frustrated and about to pray. He said he never intended for the remark to be disrespectful or for others to hear it.

"When you're involved in trial and the motors are running ... there are times when you feel you need strength and my strength comes from God," said Marshall

But Helms said it was disrespectful.

"If the court does not get the respect from members of the bar, we can't have the respect from clients, and then we have anarchy," Helms said to Marshall.

"Mr. Marshall, I think you are an excellent trial attorney. You have an air about you that many attorneys don't have, but you waste it on petty things."

According to the Winston-Salem Journal, two mistrials had already been declared in the case because of hung juries, and Marshall said that the third trial brought on stress. He said that stress likely led to the remark.

Helms sentenced Marshall to two days in jail, 70 hours of community service and a month-long suspension of his license. Marshall will also be examined by a psychologist.

You should have more options-I don't think he should have been punished at all. I

The judge totally overeacted, in this overly sensitive PC world.

The lawyer was not disrespectful at all.

chonsigirl wrote: You should have more options-I don't think he should have been punished at all. I

The judge totally overeacted, in this overly sensitive PC world.

The lawyer was not disrespectful at all.


Yes, you would have thought I would have included that one! :yh_doh

Thank you for responding though! I was interested to see what people feel about this.

I bet you will get some interesting replies, dear Beagle.....................

chonsigirl wrote: You should have more options-I don't think he should have been punished at all. I

The judge totally overeacted, in this overly sensitive PC world.

The lawyer was not disrespectful at all.


The whole thing is a joke - contempt of court? The Judge is guilty!

Sorry--was there something about FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION/SPEECH?

Silly me!

I'd like to put in my vote for anoter option in the poll:



"The judge is an idiot"



What a total joke, not to mention a waste of the system's resources and time. :-5 :-5 :-5 :-5

Unless you're a fundamentalist....then, you'd probably APPLAUD this jerk's decision!

I completely agree with Bryn Mawr.

This judge was a fathead.

Huh?

The Judge of what?????????????

The judge sounds like an egotisitcial moron. Thanks for posting this, Winston Salem is not far from where I live..

I didn't vote yet as I am suspicious there are surrounding circumstances. If the lawyer was showing contempt of court throughout the trial then this could have been just the "tip of the iceberg" or the point that judge started the accusation from. I find it hard to believe it would happen based on that one word alone.

Also that the trial was on its third go seems to indicate a history.

I agree with BR. None of those choices fit what I would have thought. These two are acting like toddlers.

An outburst in court by Marshall was the culmination of a dispute that began about a month ago

Attorneys at Thursday's hearing had mixed feelings about the ruling. District Attorney Tom Keith said the judgment was appropriate.

"There are rules of court we must comply with whether we think the judge is liberal, conservative, tough or easy, so you don't pick a fight with him regardless of how big you think your ego is," he said. "Ray violated the rules."



what an odd thing for a lawyer to say "how big you think your ego is". lawyers are supposed to be good with words. an ego doesn't think it is big it just is or isn't.