Court Opinion

ID: 9782860
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-30 19:25:40.55267+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:35:15.422110
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE SCHMIDT, specially concurring: I concur but write separately to point out that we do not expect lawyers, judges, doctors, or anyone else to do their jobs with someone standing close enough to do them harm while screaming profanities and threats at them. There is no way the police (or anyone else) can conduct their business in the face of such conduct. As judges, we will likely never experience conduct such as that exhibited by defendant in this case because anyone who begins screaming profanities at a judge while the judge is working will likely be arrested before he or she has time to get to the threats stage. We ask the police to investigate crime and keep the peace. Common sense and experience teach that when the police are trying to do their job and one or more people are threatening them, this not only emboldens the ones doing the threatening and screaming, but many times also incites bystanders who may be drawn into the fray. These situations can and often do deteriorate quickly, putting police and the public at greater risk of harm. The more quickly an agitator is removed from the scene, the safer everyone (including the agitator) is.