Men Who Pointed Cameras & Frightened Jurors Jailed for Contempt
Two Ohio men who pointed cameras at jurors hearing an aggravated murder trial last week were jailed Wednesday for contempt of court.
Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Judge Nancy Margaret Russo declared a mistrial in the case and sentenced the men for “intimidating and frightening my jury,” the Cleveland Plain Dealer reports.
One of the men was a friend of defendant Dwayne Davenport and used a Flip video camera recorded images of jurors and prosecutors for eight minutes in the courtroom before someone noticed, the paper reports.
The men, Andre Block and Davenport’s cousin, Dwight Davenport, were sentenced to 60 days and 30 days respectively. Davenport was reportedly seen pointing his cell phone toward jurors as if he was about to photograph them, though no images were found on his cell phone.
According to the Plain Dealer, judges have since taped signs on the walls and doors indicating that recording devices and cell phones need to be turned off.
But J. Dean Carro, director of the Legal Clinic of the University of Akron’s School of Law, told the paper that cameras and cell phones need to be banned.
The Conference of Court Public Information Officers is currently studying the issue of handheld devices in courtrooms and their effects on the justice system. The organization intends to publish a report on its results sometime in the summer.
Hat Tip: The Crime Report
More from ABAJournal.com:
Maryland Preps to Ban Cell Phones & Laptops from Courts
Judicial Conf. Group OKs Model Rules Barring Juror Talk, Texts & Tweets
