Crime

Attorney Called In Bomb Threat To Avoid Court Date

Bomb threats are the wrong way to handle your schedule.

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Some days your calendar just gets too full. Court appearance here, client meeting there, deposition over there — it all adds up and you need to get out of a couple of those appointments. You might consider reaching out and asking everyone to reschedule. Or you might try calling the courthouse and telling them there’s a bomb in the building.

Don’t do the latter.

A Syracuse lawyer is accused of calling in a bomb threat to a day care center at the federal courthouse on the day she was scheduled to argue against a judge sanctioning her.

Jacqueline B. Jones, then a lawyer with the Mackenzie Hughes law firm, called in the bomb threat Feb. 20, 2015, according to court records.

Jones, who will plead guilty on August 4, was set to defend herself against a sanctions motion for failing to turn over certain evidence to the plaintiff in a civil rights claim. Northern District of New York Magistrate Judge David Peebles and plaintiff’s attorney Rick Guy were waiting patiently for Jones to arrive for the hearing when fire alarms blared and officers searched for any sign of an explosive device. Obviously none was found.

After the hearing, Peebles noted in the court record that a court security officer said no lawyers tried to enter the building during the bomb threat.

Imagine that call to security. These guys just went all Hurt Locker for 20 minutes and some judges is asking them to check their visitor logs.

But this is the best part of the story because after all that effort, the Magistrate still held a hearing and still knew Jones wasn’t there. The bomb threat accomplished absolutely none of its goals! It’s hard to imagine a greater imbalance between severity of action and futility of outcome.

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At least we can all cross “phony bomb threat” off our list of viable excuses.

Syracuse lawyer accused of making bomb threat to avoid court hearing [Syracuse.com]

HeadshotJoe Patrice is an editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news.

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