Judge imposes fine on self for cell phone mishap
- Judge Raymond Voet holds self in contempt of court, pays $25 fine
IONIA COUNTY, Mich. -- Judge Raymond Voet has a clearly posted policy in his courtroom that electronic devices causing a disturbance during court sessions will result in the owner being cited with contempt of court. He usually imposes a fine of $25 on top of that.
On Friday afternoon, he enforced that policy on himself.
During the prosecutor's closing argument during a jury trial in Ionia County 64A District Court, Voet's new touchscreen smartphone, which was in his shirt pocket, began to emit a voice, which loudly requested that Voet give the phone voice commands for voice dialing. Voet has used a Blackberry for years, and was not as familiar with the smartphone's operation.
"I'm guessing I bumped it. It started talking really loud, saying 'I can't understand you. Say something like Mom,'" he said. "My face got as red as a beet."
Voet added that he couldn't stop the voice because he doesn't use that function on the phone.
"That's an excuse, but I don't take those excuses from anyone else. I set the bar high, because cell phones are a distraction and there is very serious business going on," he said. "The courtroom is a special place in the community, and it needs more respect than that. I tow a tough line, and I got to back it up this afternoon."
At the next recess, Voet held himself in contempt of court, fined himself $25, and stated on the record "If I cannot live by the rules that I enforce, then I have no business enforcing these rules."
Judges fine lawyers, police, witnesses, defendants and their friends and family frequently for noisy cell phones, Voet said. As a result, there has been a 90 percent reduction in this type of disruption in his courtroom.
"Ten percent of the time, cell phones still go off – including judges'," he said.
Voet paid the fine immediately.
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