The judge is mindful of the tightrope - how strictly does he/she wish to enforce rules of procedure an decorum - or even comment on breaches, while considering whether doing so will distract from the primary purposes of the proceedings - or give rise to potential arguments on review.
In any proceeding involving Trump, the judge knows darned well that he will disrespect the court, its rules, and the proceedings. Little benefit and considerable potential issues w/ making note of his repeated childish and disrespectful behavior.
Keep in mind, as I’m sure the judge will, every single one of those breaches are done with the specific intent of distracting from the primary purpose of the proceedings.
Re: Trump walking in and out like he owns the courtroom…
This is simply bolstering the prosecutions argument that Trump feels he’s above the law, so needs to be smacked down HARD with a large monetary judgement. Trump might as well have given the finger to the jury as he left.
With children who have oppositional defiant disorder or similar issues, leaving a room rather than responding to perceived antagonism and creating a confrontation is a great first step towards learning some executive function.
Somebody should give Trump a cookie and tell him he did a great job listening to the judge’s instructions about verbal outbursts.
closing arguments have ended, with another reprimand.
per cnn:
Trump attorney Alina Habba told the jury that E. Jean Carroll’s allegations gave her back the lavish lifestyle she once lived.
Habba attempted to toe the line of denying Carroll’s allegations again, telling the jury that Trump has “consistently stated his position as is his American right.”
Judge Lewis Kaplan cut her off to again instruct the jury that they must accept that it’s been previously established by a prior jury that Trump sexually assaulted Carroll.
Habba responded, “Yes, it’s been established by a jury.”
“It is established, and you will not quarrel with me," Kaplan responded, telling Habba to finish her presentation.
Habba moved on to criticize Carroll’s expert witness, professor Ashlee Humphreys, and has now ended her presentation.
That’s not the role of a judge. A judge isn’t a cop or a punisher. They have discipline powers, but that’s to keep order in their court room.
They have to be very careful in using those powers. They have to remain fair and impartial. Any indication that they have it in for one of the parties could undermine the entire proceedings. That’s especially the case in a jury trial, because the judge has to be careful not to be influencing the jury. If the judge is always coming down hard on one party, there can be a concern that the judge is telegraphing to the jury that that party is not trustworthy.
And judges have to be particularly careful if one of the parties appears to have adopted a strategy of trying to get the judge angry with them.
It’s frustrating as hell to watch, and I deeply appreciate our legal Dopers who have explained why the judges are giving more latitude for attitude than they might otherwise
All judges have to deal with jerks and misbehaviour in court from time to time. It’s a tightrope that they walk.
I remember one case years ago, where the Crown called one witness who was … recalcitrant. He was hostile from the get-go, and as the Crown asked him questions, he started to refuse to answer, calling the Crown a “goof”. In Canadian prison slang, that’s a fighting word. When the judge intervened and warned him of the dangers of refusing to testify, the witness got even more angry and started calling the judge a “fucking goof”, in prison slang one of the worst insults.
The judge gave him more warnings, and finally held him in contempt instanter, sentenced him, and ordered him removed.
The transcript then said something along the lines of :
The Court: Crown, please call your next witness. I have to say that your previous witness did not advance your case very much.
Crown: Yes, your Honour, I agree he was not very helpful.
That kind of professionalism is far better than any displays of anger, or coming down really hard on a participant in the courtroom. The judge is to do what is necessary to maintain order, but not more.
The Supreme Court of Canada upheld the trial judge’s finding of contempt.
This is the last stage of the trial. Submissions by counsel are very important. Interrupting them is a major step, and excluding the jury partway through the defence submissions could be prejudicial to the defence.
The jury is there. They can see Trump and one of his lawyers leaving the court room and draw their own conclusions about how little respect the defendant is giving to the proceedings, and to them as the decision-maker.
Yes, it’s disrespectful, and sounds like Judge Kaplan has been sure to put it on the record.
Listening to jury instructions is boring as hell!