Legal Ethics
‘Ballistic’ Over Bail Ruling, Pa. Lawyer Takes Anger Out on Courtroom Chair
Posted Jun 24, 2009, 02:34 pm CST
By Martha Neil
A Pennsylvania criminal defense lawyer reportedly went "ballistic" in Philadelphia last week, targeting a courthouse chair for abuse after a judge made a mistaken bail ruling concerning his client. But the day clearly could have gone much worse for Adam Rodgers.
Despite a hissy in which, according to observers, Rodgers not only screamed a common expletive but hurled a pen and his leather bag and either threw or forcibly set down a courthouse chair after raising it over his head, he wasn't cited for contempt. And, after he realized he had mistaken Rodgers' client for someone else, Common Pleas Judge Chris Wogan immediately reduced the client's bail from $50,000 to $15,000, reports the Philadelphia Daily News.
Wogan said he couldn't hold Rodgers in contempt because he wasn't on the bench when the tantrum occurred, and it didn't obstruct court operations.
Hat tip: Above the Law.
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