Judge Robert Restaino Sends Everyone To Jail
JUDGE Robert Restaino “snapped”. Hours spent in the wainscoted walls of a fuggy American courtroom have finally got to him.
He experienced “two hours of inexplicable madness”.
Mr Restaino (not Restraino – if only) is ready to mete out justice when he hears the urgent trill of a mobile phone.
In Anorak’s list Of Ten Items To Enrage the mobile phone ring is at Number 2, only pipped to the top spot by the occasional appearances of Anthea Turner on our television screens. If anyone should, of course, happen to own a mobile with an Anthea Turner ringtone (“Poor Della!” it trills) we would elevate it to the top spot and the mobile would be relegated to No. 3. But until that momentous and devilish day…
Back in the courtroom, Mr Restaino wants answers. Whose phone is it? Own up! No-one will admit to it. Says Mr Restaino: “Everyone is going to jail. Every single person is gong to jail in this courtroom unless I get that instrument now. If anybody believes I’m kidding, ask some of the folks that have been here for a while. You are all going.”
No-one moves. We expect some giggle. And off to jail they go. All 46 of them.
Bail is paid. People walk free. Fourteen are unable to pay their bail money and are shackled and bussed to Niagara County Jail.
Mr Restaino later releases the felons.
Whose phone did ring is not known, nor if the call was important. One shudders to thinks that it was vital, and the man or woman’s home was being razed to the ground by an angry mob.
Or “Jacqui from accounts” was calling to say Anthea Turner was on the telly…
Posted: 28th, November 2007 | In: Anorak In New York Comments (7) | Follow the Comments on our RSS feed: RSS 2.0 | TrackBack | Permalink
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March 5th, 2008 at 3:51 pm
Bryan, you say that all of the people in the courtroom were there for a reason. When I read the article, I was assuming that at least some of them were there for the reason that they were the lawyers, friends and family!
In any case, when people talk about the innocent, they no doubt mean innocent of the crime for which they have been imprisoned. Just because somebody has committed a crime in the past dot not merit locking them up for a crime they did not commit… assuming you see forgetting to switch a phone off as a crime worthy of imprisonment!
December 7th, 2007 at 5:19 pm
I actually live in Niagara Falls and have stood infront of Judge Restaino. I’d have to say he is a very fair and respectful person. I only stood infront of him for a traffic violation but I have been in the court with some of the people that frequent him. These people have no respect for society or themselves. Phones can be set to vibrate. This was an human error in judgment but I’m sure it came with provocation. All of you referred to people in the court room as “poor innocent people”, they were in court for reason. Most of those people in that court on that day had prior crimes. These people were not pillars of the community. Furthermore, you are all doing what you claim Judge Restaino did and thats Judge before all the facts were known.
December 7th, 2007 at 5:13 pm
I
November 29th, 2007 at 7:39 am
Surely this is an unlawful use of his powers? I assume the judge found the 46 in contempt of court. How can you jail 45 innocent people because a 46th won’t admit their mobile has rung?
The man is not fit to have any place in the legal system.
November 29th, 2007 at 4:35 am
This guy needs to be fired. This was blatant case of abuse of authority. He should be handcuffed and thrown into jail for a few hours himself. What an ego he must have. He has no business being a judge. The kind of power and authority entrusted to judges has to be respected by the judges themselves.
Can him.
November 28th, 2007 at 11:15 pm
This guy ought to be lose his judge position and be disbarred forever. Shameful, despicable acts cannot be encouraged in any possible way. The judges out there who are tyrants must see that their inappropriate actions will be met with the strictest of consequences.
He should also be forced to spend double the amount of time in a jail cell as the poor innocent people had to, except instead of spending it with other innocent people, he should spend the time with the worst the jail has to offer.
November 28th, 2007 at 7:49 pm
Might have been someone to ring and say ‘I’m on the train’, happens all the time round here