Weirdness

Disorder in the Court: Memphis Defendant Spittin' Mad and Issuing Death Threats

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We don’t know if there are many public defenders regularly reading ATL. For those who do, we salute you for putting up with clients like this one:

Earlier this year, burglary and rape suspect Joshua Beadle got himself into deeper trouble by spitting at the judge.
This week, while shackled and outfitted in a special hooded spit mask, he talked himself into nearly two years in jail after threatening to kill Criminal Court Judge Lee Coffee.
“You mark my word, Judge Coffee,” Beadle shouted as he was led from the courtroom to a holding area. “I promise you, Lee Coffee, I’ll kill you and cut your (expletive) head off.”
The incident occurred Monday after a hearing in which his appointed attorney, Greg Carman, had asked to be removed from the case because Beadle had threatened to kill him earlier this month.

Generally, threatening to kill people is not the most effective technique for getting your way. Death threats against judges: not cool and not protected speech (when it comes to federal judges).
The following sequence reminds us of a parent reprimanding a little boy:

When Beadle, 23, continued talking after the judge ordered him to be silent, Coffee threatened to hold him in contempt for every word he uttered.
Beadle ignored the judge’s admonishment, said everyone was treating him as if he were stupid and then began making threats to the judge.
Coffee stopped counting at 70 words and held Beadle in contempt for 10 days per word for a total of 700 days in jail.

Did Beadle consider holding his breath until the court would take him seriously?
At least he’s courteous to court clerks:

In January, Beadle spit toward the judge, but instead hit a court clerk’s computer. Through his nylon-and-mesh spit mask, he apologized to the clerk on Monday and assured her that his intended target was the judge.

Spit mask. Ewww.
Memphis Man Sentenced to 10 Days Per Word for Threatening Judge [The Associated Press via Law.com]
At 10-Days-Per-Word, Threatening Defendant Gets 700 Days in Prison [WSJ Law Blog]

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