wrote in message
oups.com...
Please cite the statute that grants the Judge the ability to assault
the defendant before him

Except in Judge Judy's courtroom there is none, however I think Jay's
point is that a judge should demand a certain amount of respect (if not
just for the fact that he/she can REALLY make your life miserable if
you give them a reason to) and this punk's alleged show of disrespect
was met with a strong reaction from the bench. Not having seen first
hand of course, nobody can say if it was justified but I doubt you'd
find much sympathy for the erstwhile pilot.



Turning your back on a judge could be considerd "Contempt" and in many
cases could bring a bigger penalty than the original crime itself. Personaly
I'm surprised he didn't get charged with contempt as well as "reckles
endangerment", "Impared operation of a aircraft" ect. ect. those alone could
probably have gotten him atleast 10 years. He should count his blessings the
judge was lenient this round!.

I have never heard of such a case up here in Canada (well none that survived
to answer to a judge anyway) but about 10 years or so ago someone stole a
152 or a 172 out of CYCW and tried doing stunts under a freeway overpass at
night. Well he survived the initial crash only to be killed by a
Tractor-Trailer highway rig that couldn't stop in time!

Some people are just natural nominees for the Darwin Awards.