Given 20 days for contempt, lawyer blames judge and says he would like to sanction jurist
A Michigan lawyer has been given 20 days for contempt after a judge said he “defiantly refused to answer” questions on Friday about a loud conversation that took place near a jury room.
The sentence is to be served by attorney Tim Barkovic at the conclusion of an ongoing criminal trial in which he is representing a man accused of mistreating his elderly parents, the Detroit Free Press reports.
As Macomb County Circuit Judge Edward Servitto on Tuesday recounted his version of events in court and detailed the attorney’s contempt sentence, which will also include a $250 fine, Barkovic took issue with the jurist’s perception of events, the newspaper reports.
“I think it would be appropriate if I could sanction you,” the lawyer told the judge at one point, contending that Servitto has been unusually “intemperate” throughout the case.
“Would you listen? Would you listen? Would you treat me with courteousness?” Barkovic loudly asked Servitto at another point. “Quit belittling me and acting as if you are totally out of control.”
Underlying the contempt sanctions was a loud conversation between Barkovic and a prosecutor near a copy machine a short distance from a jury room, the Free Press reports. The judge said he asked the prosecutor on Friday if the conversation had any relationship to the case, and she said it didn’t. When the judge tried to ask Barkovic the same question, fireworks erupted.
Barkovic “defiantly refused to answer” the judge’s questions and went to the back of the courtroom, flinging his hands about and saying that he was ready to go to jail, according to the judge. He also accused Barkovic of calling courtroom deputies “goons.”
Servitto said this is the first time he has ever fined an attorney. Barkovic said his voice is naturally loud and has been that way since childhood.
The attorney is facing an unrelated personal case in which he is charged with stalking and disturbing the peace for allegedly harassing his Harrison Township neighbors over a period of a year or more. Barkovic has called this case “totally unfounded” and accused the county prosecutor of retaliation.
See also:
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Charged with Assault and Battery in Courthouse Cop Scuffle”
ABAJournal.com: “Lawyer Asserts His Cop Taunts Are Protected by the First Amendment”
