Judge Stephen F. Belden of Canton, Ohio likes to maintain an orderly courtroom. He does not take kindly to unruly outbursts from defendants when he is laying down the law. In Judge Belden’s courtroom, justice is blind… and occasionally mute.
The defendant, Harry Brown, was not pleased with the public attorney assigned to him and made his displeasure known to Judge Belden during the hearing. Brown decried that the public defender did not do enough to help him and therefore he would like to represent himself. After repeatedly talking over the the defendant in an alpha-male fueled spat to explain why he would not want to represent himself, Judge Belden finally resorted to ordering the bailiff to duct tape his mouth shut in order to proceed.
You can actually hear the muffled defendant still trying to plead his case after the duct tape has been applied at the link below.
Duct Tape Discipline
Judge Stephen F. Belden Seals Defendant's Mouth in Court
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2. Improving Legal Representation - Disruptive innovation opportunity: Create new methods or platforms to provide more effective legal representation for defendants.
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