In this rather amusing little clip, the judge responds twice in succession to a smart ass.
I don’t know what the legal meaning of “pronouncement” is, or that he has to sign something, but it looks like it was a done deal before the girl opened her trap.
Also, there were some hoots and howls from some people–who? And nobody hushed them.
There was no sentence, it was a bail hearing. At the end, she is found guilty of criminal contempt of court and sentenced on the spot to 30 days in County. That is an entirely separate issue from her bail for the drug charges.
Well, I guess the query still stands, with bail hearings. I thought that once something is decided in court, it’s decided. And that changing the decision (amount of bail/criminal or civil decision) requires opening a new proceeding.
But like was said, she’s being sentenced for contempt by the stuff she said to the judge. That’s different than the bail hearing decision.
Bail gets revoked and adjusted all the time. It’s a different matter with convictions because of double jeopardy.
As I always tell clients, what really matters is the judge’s signature on a paper order.
In the case of the girl who flipped off the judge, the necessary paperwork would be drafted by the court clerks after the judge made his pronouncement. Technically, he could change his mind after pronouncing in court, and he could refuse to sign the order resulting from his remarks. But I don’t think the judge in question will change his mind between the time he made his pronouncement in court and the production of the paperwork that requires his signature.
Oh, I see. It was precisely the signature thing I was asking: it looked like the Judge signed something.
I think what Leo is referring to is the fact that the judge set bail at $5,000, then called her back and changed it to $10,000 after she said “adios.” Bail can be changed, unlike a sentence, after it has been set.
What may not be clear to all is that the accused and the judge are not in the same room. The hearing is being conducted via close circuit television. The hoots and hollers are coming from other inmates who were awaiting their turns.
There is a longer clip where the public defender asks the judge to reconsider the contempt charge.
There is no legal meaning of “pronouncement” in American jurisprudence. It has no legal significance. Nothing is official in a court until the clerk files a paper in the docket with the judge’s signature.
Thanks to all.
<Note to self: Don’t piss off a judge. Say how much jewelry you own, once you’ve protested proudly that you have a lot of it, even though the judge has moved on. Don’t mock his accent. Or curse him. Buy flash cards.>