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CANTON, Ohio — An Ohio judge unhappy with repeated interruptions from a robbery suspect ordered a deputy to put duct tape over the defendant’s mouth. Canton Municipal Court Judge Stephen Belden says the taping last Thursday was the best way to restore order at a hearing for 51-year-old Harry Brown of Canton.

Brown complained that his court-appointed attorney wasn’t prepared and angered the judge with interruptions. After a warning, the judge told the bailiff to tape Brown’s mouth shut.

When the tape was removed, the defendant said the judge wasn’t being respectful. The judge ended the hearing and sent the case to a grand jury.

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Tags: Injustice, Legal System, Ohio
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  • http://www.blackplanet.com/beanchild/ beanchild

    Im sorry to say it cause folks always think we pulling the race card but white folks dont get that kind of treatment. I dont know if the racism is concious but i do know it is there.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/V0racii0usKrii0la127/ V0racii0usKrii0la127

    good…i like to duct tape peoples mouths too…he shoulda shut the hell up

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/MIz31/ MIz31

    Naw that is legal. Its called restraint. It just like how they put mouth restraints on inmates who keep spitting on CO’s or feed them through an IV because they are on a hunger strike. It makes sense to me.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/I_kAn_OnLy_B_Me/ I_kAn_OnLy_B_Me

    He should have shut up! I dont blame the jusge at all.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/I_kAn_OnLy_B_Me/ I_kAn_OnLy_B_Me

    He should have shut up! I dont blame the jusge at all. Everybody is always so quick to pull the race card…stupidness has no color, and dude was stupid.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/shy_but_lovable/ shy_but_lovable

    It aint racism…if you do something wrong and then wont shut the f**k up…people aren’t gonna buy you a cake. they gonna whip ya ass. Thats why parent should discpline their children…so the law dont do it.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/WHITEBOY-C/ WHITEBOY-C

    That can’t be right. What about his rights for freedom of speech?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/newdawn31907/ newdawn31907

    I agree with beanchild. I have never heard of a judge doing that to a white defendant. That is wrong. If the defendant was white that judge would have been issuing an apology and his job would be in danger.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/tellemall/ tellemall

    This didn’t happen because he was black, it happened because he was interrupting the judge and didn’t know how to act. I mean come on your in a courthouse, learn how to conduct yourself.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/THEQUEEN28/ THEQUEEN28

    It aint racism…if you do something wrong and then wont shut the f**k up…people aren’t gonna buy you a cake. they gonna whip ya a**. Thats why parent should discpline their children…so the law dont do it.
    hahahah.aww! i agree with you.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/SomebodyDaddy/ SomebodyDaddy

    I can see why the judge did this. Furthermore,I have seen white defendants restrained in a similar manner. So, I don’t think race factored into this act. However, I think the man’s civil rights were violated by unlawful restraint. The judge could have ended the hearing based on the man’s verbal disruption, and charged him with contempt of court. Yet, he took actions that seem to be rooted in the desire to assert his will over another person. This was a preliminary hearing. I can’t see the need to “restore order” in the court by these means.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Jaxan/ Jaxan

    I believe this is a violation to civil rights. The judge could of easy put the man into contempt and/or add something to the sentence per interruption. Now, if the man was spitting that’s different.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/SoularFlarez/ SoularFlarez

    i agree with “MIz31″

    it sounds f**ked up but its probly Legal, you gotta carry yourself a certain way up in Court.

    gotta go thru certain procedures n all that crap….

    but real talk…. them Public Defenders are USELESS…. they sell you in a second talken bout “take a plea” for lesser charge…. cuz it costs WAY more mmoney to go to trial….. if everyone let their case go to court, the so-called Justice system would have to actually WORK for money instead of just punkin everybody….

    what alot of us sleep on is that the so-called Justice system AND the prison system is all about COMMERCE, business, profit, paper, money etc…..

    lawyers/attorneys and public defenders… they are members of the ‘BAR’ association and their FIRST allegiance is to their fellow ‘BAR’ members aka Court-Employees…. nagas would be better off studyin how da Law works on OUR OWN….. cuz right now its setup to turn ya Rights into Privledges so you stay broke and/or locked up.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/MORETHENRUBBIES/ MORETHENRUBBIES

    From my common sense pont of veiw, The judge could have simply ask the balifs to remove him from the court room and held him for contempt.
    Peace and Love

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Sub-Negro/ Sub-Negro

    THe judge was like N!GG@ STFU!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/alpha111906/ alpha111906

    ‘Niggas’ want to commit a crime and then want 100 percent respect from the law. Don’t compound your idiocracy by acting a fool in court. You have the option to fire your attorney, hire your own attorney, or represent yourself “Pro Se”. If you don’t like the way the attorney, judge, or police are behaving…stay out of trouble, get an education…idiot. Go to Mexico, China, Iran, North Korea…you would have been beat to death, and no one would have thought twice about it…begging to be brought back to America where you could at least do something about it.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/LaCessamino/ LaCessamino

    I seen something like that on this show called “The Practice”.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Da_Chi_Type/ Da_Chi_Type

    as odd as it may seems it is completely legal for a judge to have someone bound and gagged or duct tapped

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/ttime1/ ttime1

    First of all he is not being charged with a robbery; that why he is in municipal court as opposed to felony court.

    Second, I did not hear what questions he was asking or attempting to ask. He may have had some very legitimate questions that he has a right to asks.

    But what is for damn sure is that some of these comments are presumptive and shows more ignorance than intelligence.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/STREETxtc/ STREETxtc

    give me a damn break, hes in there for shoplifting, how the f**k you go from shoplifting to robbery. I would sue this website for slander

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Vertigo2001/ Vertigo2001

    (Sigh)

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Berry_Rn/ Berry_Rn

    Lol.. Very sad. He should have had more respect for the court of law than that.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Mrcomeback/ Mrcomeback

    First of all it seems to me no one on here knows anything about law.The criminal justice system has double standards, white people get treated different from african americians;{2 it is illegal for a judge to duc-tape any plantiffs’ mouth in court. It violates, the first amendent, also being in municipal court he is their for his case to be heard and being ordered to pay the fine or get jail time. He needs to sue the city which is the municipal court for violating his first amendment freedom of speech and for duc taping his mouth.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/KillaDymeGurl15/ KillaDymeGurl15

    The man should have kept his mouth shut. Usually they just hold the person in contempt of court and give them a fine. He can’t sue the city. They gave him a court appointed attorney because he couldn’t afford one. His claim would be dismissed if he was in my court room. He should quit while he’s ahead and be happy that all he got was tape over his mouth and not $1,000 fine.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/MistaJawan/ MistaJawan

    I’ve been held in contempt out here in a california courtroom, and i was detained for two days, and this brother got a peice of duct tape across his lips???? man he won in my opinion!!!.lol..

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/beeutea/ beeutea

    Wow!! I live in Canton, Ohio and I haven’t heard of this ish!! I can’t stand the criminal justice system here in Canton…They’re all crooked, from the judge right on down to the bailiff…We have sum of the most prejudice cops around…and the female one’s Oh I can’t stand them b***hes..I hope this dude sues the judge…The judge should’ve followed the law and just held him in contempt…I think the judge took it waaaayyy too far!!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/persuasive_lyric/ persuasive_lyric

    One of the dumbest things you can ever do in any court is to show in court not knowing you rights. I’m not speaking for the judge’s actions, but if your are going to act ignorant, then you give them the excuse to treat you ignorantly. This they love because it makes them look in the right to themselves, even though it was wrong. But don’t ever let them get the upper hand, if you must attack, attack on their level. They fight each other with their own words, with their own intellect. We must do the same.
    The man spoke out of anger and to tell you the truth anger doesn’t work on them like it did 50, 60 years ago. Find out what your rights as a citizen, as a human being are and use it towards your own advantage. They must submit to their own words and law or they are unjust and when you have proven this, do them like they do us, exploit them.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/persuasive_lyric/ persuasive_lyric

    One of the dumbest things you can ever do in any court, is to show up in court not knowing your rights. I’m not speaking for the judge’s actions, but if your are going to act ignorant, then you give them the excuse to treat you ignorantly. This they love because it makes them look in the right to themselves, even though it was wrong. But don’t ever let them get the upper hand, if you must attack, attack on their level. They fight each other with their own words, with their own intellect. We must do the same.
    The man spoke out of anger and to tell you the truth anger doesn’t work on them like it did 50, 60 years ago. Find out what your rights as a citizen, as a human being are and use it towards your own advantage. They must submit to their own words and law or they are unjust and when you have proven this, do them like they do us, exploit them.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/specialkindalady/ specialkindalady

    Oh well. Next…?

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Babe_21/ Babe_21

    Yeah, lol I live in canton and when I seen that in the paper I was not surprise because canton is full of ignorant people, and most of the ignorant people in canton are the ones running everything, and that’s why canton is so f**ked up and always will be. I mean how do you tape a grown mans mouth up, the judge can say he did it because he was being disrespectful but really he did it to humiliate him and its so sad Because had that been a white guy it wouldn’t of made it to the front page of the paper because it wouldn’t of happened!!!!

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/SoularFlarez/ SoularFlarez

    yup…

    if you DO NOT KNOW YOUR RIGHTS…

    they can and WILL do whatever they want

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/2daTopnonStop/ 2daTopnonStop

    This man had EVERY RIGHT to complain about his court appointed lawyer~ If he wasn’t doing his job he should have been removed. Yet; we as a people have to know the law & our rights so we can bne able to speak up for ourselves when wrong is being done. He could had all this resolved by saying one sentence. Instead he is now all on the internet being talked about~

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/shindogg/ shindogg

    god dat judge iz gay. sumbody shud duct tape his bich mouf an c how fuk he like it! faggit

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/okkii69/ okkii69

    Its OK to debate with a judge in a respectful educated manner, but this guy was just being ignorant, loud, and stopping the court procedure. If I was a judge, I would’ve duct taped his mouth shut to, or remove him from the court. You have to respect a judge, they can throw you in jail for contempt of court. We have a legal system that requires certain officials to get a certain amount of respect.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/okkii69/ okkii69

    Black people, we do talk to dam much! I even have a problem with it, and thats what gets us into trouble. In fact, thats something I’m going to work on this year. Do more listening and thinking, and less talking.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/niecybelle699/ niecybelle699

    i do NOT find this racist, disrespectful or anything of this nature.

    If im your judge, and i tell you to shut up, BE QUIET lol.

    i think i would do the same

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/whozdatladyE/ whozdatladyE

    yeah maybe so niecybelle, but in a court of law a simple “CONTEMPT OF COURT” WOULD HAVE DONE THE TRICK. “Contempt of court is a COURT ORDER hich, in the context of a court trial deems an individual as having been disrespectful of the court, its process, and its invested powers. Often stated simply as “in contempt” or a person “held in contempt”, it is the highest remedy of a judge to impose sanctions on an individual for acts which excessively disrupts the normal process of a court hearing.” JUST SO YA KNOW!! AND ALERTING A JUDGE THAT YOUR TRIAL LAWYER IS NOT PREPARED TO TRY YOU CASE IS NOT DISRUPTIVE.

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/Wut_a_Girl_Need/ Wut_a_Girl_Need

    ok ok ok, that was f**ked up… but it wasnt really racist… he just wanted him to shut the fukk up..lol..

  • http://www.blackplanet.com/candy_apple_blk/ candy_apple_blk

    WOW see what frustration makes people do. lol

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