Subject: [NEXTEL-1] Lawyer Jailed For Turning Off His Phone

From: NEXTEL-1
Date: Wed, 23 Jun 2004 00:22:05 -0400

Lawyer Jailed For Turning Off His Phone

Contributed by Mike Masnick on Monday, June 21 2004 @ 1:19am

There are so many stories about how people keep trying to get others to
leave their mobile phones alone -- whether while
driving or in restaurants or at a performance. However, this story goes
in the other direction. Many courthouses actually
ban the use of mobile phones, but apparently that's not the case at the
courthouse in this story. A judge who was trying to
reach a lawyer during his lunch break about a case, later ordered the
lawyer to leave his mobile phone on. The lawyer
refused and was sent to jail. The article says the lawyer gave no reason
for refusing, but it's hard to understand what law
would require you to leave your phone on for a judge to call you
whenever he wants.

techdirt.com

=================================================================================================================================================================
June 19, 2004, 6:40 PM EDT

Prosecutor Jailed for
Leaving Phone Off

By Associated Press

LA GRANDE, Ore. -- A prosecutor was briefly
sent to jail along with the man he helped
convict of manslaughter after the lawyer
refused a judge's order to turn on his cell
phone.

Union County District Attorney Martin
Birnbaum was released Friday night after
spending the evening in a La Grande cell
about 40 feet away from the man he
prosecuted.

Judge Phillip Mendiguren tried to reach Birnbaum with a jury question
while the lawyer was on his lunch break Friday, Undersheriff Dana Wright
said. When Birnbaum returned to court, Mendiguren ordered him to keep
his cell
phone on. The prosecutor refused, and the judge cited him for contempt.

The jury eventually convicted Jeremy Wilson of manslaughter and assault
in the shaking death
of his girlfriend's child.

It was not clear why Birnbaum refused the judge's request. Calls to his
home and office were
not immediately returned Saturday.

The prosecutor was to stay in jail until Sunday night, but was able to
return home just before
midnight Friday because of a state law that allows sheriffs to execute
weekend releases
early.

La Grande is about halfway between Portland and Boise, Idaho.

Copyright © 2004, The Associated Press

http://www.mcall.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-brf-cell-phone-prosecutor,0,1572275.story?coll==sns-ap-nationworld-headlines

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