Michigan judge Jeffrey Middleton’s virtual courtroom is getting quite the reputation — it seems to be a magnet for boneheaded defendants making epic blunders over Zoom.
The first time Judge Middleton’s Zoom courtroom went viral was when a prosecutor noticed something was amiss during a hearing in an assault case, and it turned out that defendant was appearing at the hearing FROM THE VICTIM’S HOUSE, despite having a no-contact order. In that case, Judge Middleton immediately revoked bail, and had the defendant taken into custody.
The second time a Michigan man was set to be sentenced after entering a plea for having no insurance and driving with a suspended license. He appeared in court, from the inside of car… in the driver’s seat… and yes, he still had a suspended license.
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The latest virtual snafu happened when a defendant logged into an arraignment hearing with an unfortunate moniker — Buttfucker 3000. And, yeah, Judge Middleton was NOT pleased:
“Your name’s not Buttfucker 3000, you yo-ho, logging in to my court with that as your screenname.” said the judge, later adding, “What kind of idiot logs into court like that?”
The defendant, Nathaniel Saxton, was momentarily kicked out of the virtual courtroom. When he returned he apologized and explained that his sister set up the account, using that screen name as an inside joke.
Ultimately, the defendant was fined $200 for possession of drug paraphernalia — but it could have gone a lot worse:
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“Is your sister there?” said the judge.
“No, unfortunately, she is not,” said Saxton.
“Tell her she almost got you put in jail for contempt of court,” said the judge.
As the video clip below shows, Saxton really does seem appropriately chagrined over the incident. But it’s an important reminder to check your screen name before logging into any important Zoom meeting.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).