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Monday, November 19, 2007
Courts - Cell phones in courtrooms
The ILB has had a number of entries on bans on cell phones and cameras in Indiana courtrooms and courthouses. Today, this National Law Journal report from Massachusetts that begins:
The Massachusetts Appeals Court upheld a lower court's witness intimidation jury verdict by ruling that pointing a cellular telephone camera at a witness in a criminal case is witness intimidation."It is irrelevant whether any photographs were taken, as the police officer was made to believe that the defendant was taking pictures of him and could disseminate his likeness, an act intended to intimidate," wrote Associate Justice R. Marc Kantrowitz.
The defendant was found guilty of intimidating a witness last year in a case that arose from a 2004 trial for drug-related offenses. While in a courthouse during his 2004 drug trial, the defendant acted as if he were taking cell phone photos of an undercover police officer who was scheduled to testify against him.
Posted by Marcia Oddi on November 19, 2007 08:32 AM
Posted to Courts in general