Don't Thank Jesus in Honolulu Courts

Junior Stowers, 47, raised his hands and cried out "Thank you Jesus!" after the jury reached the June 29th verdict that he was "not guilty" of hitting his 15 year old son with a broomstick back in January. According to court records Stowers' son denied his previous accusations and confessed that his brother had hit him with a car door. His brother verified this in court, freeing Stowers from misdemeanor charges of physical abuse, carrying a sentence of a year in jail.

Yet, to the utter shock of family members and Iakopo Sale, Stowers' pastor at the Assembly of God Church, who were watching in the gallery, Stowers was accused of contempt of court for thanking Jesus for his deliverance, and was kept in custody.

Following Stowers' "outburst," Judge Patrick W. Border of the 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu said, "There will (be) no more of that," and declared him in contempt of court. Although Stowers requested to approach the bench and apologize, Judge Border refused his plea and ordered him to remain in the courtroom, and then in the cellblock. He was released after 6 hours, with an order to attend a hearing on July 7th.

Both MSNBC and ABC carried the Associated Press version of this story, but the AP didn't think to mention the circumstances around the bogus charges till half-way through, leaving doubt till then whether or not this religious person was actually a sadistic pig that had perhaps gotten away with something... a well worn television and movie cliche.

You would have thought that the judge might have been a little lenient with Mr Stowers after having his character unfairly besmirched as it was, but evidently saying Jesus in court just can't be tolerated... no way, no how.

Stowers' lawyer, deputy public defender Susan Arnett, said that a defendant is held in contempt after repeatedly ignoring warnings issued by the judge; but Stowers had not caused any trouble in the courtroom before he expressed his thanks to God. A conviction for contempt of court is a petty misdemeanor and carries a jail sentence of up to 30 days in Hawaii. "Contemptuous behavior has to be much higher than [what Stowers did]," Arnett said.
http://www.lifesite.net/ldn/2006/jul/06071709.html

I personally have contempt for Judge Border (clearly an idiot) and hope that the voters or those that might rule on his behavior will get rid of him. He sounds like a man with a big problem, and has no business being on the bench and making judgments.