|
PANAMA CITY, FLA---Frustrated because he thought a defendant facing a felony parole violation was being tried in a separate offense in a courtroom with inadequate security, a Florida judge told defense attorneys that he had brought a gun to court and was "locked and loaded".
Bay County Court Judge Michael Hauversburk, in his first year on the bench, told the defendant's attorney to tell his client "that the deputies have certain constraints about the rules of engagement, but I do not. If he does anything that I see as a threat to me or anybody in this courtroom, then I'm going to fire first and ask questions later".
Chief Judge William Wright of Florida's 14th Circuit Court excused away the judge's behavior, saying that "all new judges have a learning curve they have to go through and it takes a while to get adapted to the system".
Although the incident occurred in July, it wasn't reported to the chief judge until October. Hauversburk has been ordered to accept "mentoring".
Florida judges are allowed to carry concealed weapons. 11-21-06
All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed by anyone without the express written permission of the publisher. This article is copyright protected.
© 2006 North
Country Gazette
|
