On 9 Mar 2006 10:27:46 -0800, "
wrote in
.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,

Right.

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.

How much respect do you have for the judges who tried O.J. and Blake?
:-)

A judge's job is meting out justice, not demanding respect. In any
event, publicly implying the defendant is stupid doesn't enhance
judicial respectability (even if it's true), and could be
characterized as verbal assault, IMO.

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.

Your use of the word 'erstwhile' here implies that the defendant once
held a pilots certificate; apparently he didn't.