02 May 2008

Contempt, Yahoo!'s Terms of Service, & Accidently Letting the Judge See a Stupid Joke

The Defense tries to introduce Yahoo!'s terms of service to Judge Smith. The judge refuses to allow it on technical reasons. Then someone - the secretary, the law partner, or the attorney trying the case - either makes a huge mistake or generates a fake document without the technical problems.

Judge Smith goes ballistic and makes the attorney bring Secretary and Law Partner to court. Next, the judge sends people to the attorney's office to disprove the lawyers' explanation.

Then the judge finds the lawyers in summary contempt. The lawyers get a second hearing in which they try to have an attorney to represent them, but the judge schedules it when the attorney cannot be present. Judge finds them again in summary contempt.

For good measure, the judge also finds the law student who was helping the lawyers in the case in contempt. He had gotten a document down from the interweb using the snarky name "smithisanazi."

All this, and an explanation that if there is enough evidence to convict double jeopardy cannot attach, found here.

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