Probable Cause Hearing Goes from Bad to Worse for Duct-Taped Defendant
A municipal court judge in Canton, Ohio, told a bailiff to get the duct tape—and use it to silence an argumentative defendant at a preliminary hearing in a shoplifting case last week—after the defendant, who was unhappy about his public defender, continued to interrupt the judge, reports the Repository.
Before the tape was applied, Harry Brown, 51, asked to be returned to the prisoner holding area instead, the newspaper recounts. But Judge Stephen Belden, in a conversation that was recorded on a courtroom tape machine, replied “No, you can’t go back there and sit. You’re staying right here.”
Belden told the public defender to go sit in the courtroom audience, then allowed the prosecutor to question a police witness. Then he had the bailiff remove Brown’s muzzle and asked the defendant if he had any questions for the witness, telling him that he would be duct-taped again if he was “disrespectful.”
“I’m not being disrespectful, your honor,” replied Brown. “I think you’re being more disrespectful to me, as, you know—”
At that point, the newspaper reports, the judge ended the hearing and determined that there was probable cause for Brown’s arrest, before the defendant had a chance to ask a single question.
As Brown then used some obscenities as he was escorted out the door, the judge told him he could expect an additional 30 days for contempt, the Repository article continues.
Contacted later by the newspaper at the Stark County Jail, Brown described Belden’s treatment of him as unnecessary and unethical, and said he wants to file a complaint against the judge with the state supreme court.
Belden tells the newspaper he learned of the duct-tape approach from an out-of-state jurist while attending a training seminar for judges. He said he has never had a defendant duct-taped before and hopes never to do so again.
Related earlier coverage:
ABAJournal.com: “Judge Orders Man’s Mouth Taped Shut”
