Judge rolls out duct tape to silence disruptive defendant

[P12]

Only in Texas!!


The story

Judge rolls out duct tape to silence disruptive defendant
BY KERRY DRENNAN
AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

An irrepressible defendant who refused to comply with a judge's repeated requests for respect and silence found himself under a literal gag order Tuesday morning.

For about 20 minutes, Carl Wiley, 36, on trial for aggravated assault, ignored pleas from District Judge Jim Bob Darnell and even his own mother to quiet down.

Wiley repeatedly interrupted his attorney, Steve Hamilton, as well as the judge during a hearing outside the presence of the jury. Finally, Darnell or dered deputies to seal Wiley's mouth shut with duct tape.

"He was being very disruptive and he was trying to fire his second court-appointed attorney, and I in formed him that when the attorney is appointed by the court, only the court can fire the attorney," Darnell said. "Mr. Wiley continued to interrupt him (Ham ilton), so the court duct-taped his mouth until the jury came in, then I had him removed from the courtroom."

Wiley continued to yell and try to interrupt even after the tape was applied, Darnell said.

Hamilton declined to comment on the incident or on his client's conviction later Tuesday afternoon.

Prosecutor Nick Moutos described the incident as "surreal."

"It was very uncomfortable be cause (Wiley's mother) was there," Moutos said. "I would've expected to see something like this on Court TV, not my own courtroom."

Darnell said this was the first time he's ever ordered a defendant's mouth taped shut. He estimated Wiley remained taped for five to 10 minutes.

Moutos said he felt like the judge gave Wiley more than enough chances to quiet down.

"The judge gave him lots of leeway — certainly more leeway than I thought he deserved," Moutos said. "He continually bad-mouthed and mouthed off to the judge and defense counsel."

Darnell said the outbursts stemmed from Wiley's assertion that his attorney had failed to submit an affidavit from the victim, Wiley's former wife, that would exonerate him.

Wiley's mother begged her son to behave appropriately. She then drove to her home in Crosbyton to retrieve the document her son claimed would clear his name.

"None of us could find or had any recollection of any such statement," Moutos said.

The mother returned with a statement that had already been introduced into evidence, Darnell said.

Wiley later calmed down and asked if he could take the plea bargain offered to him before the trial, Darnell said. The request was denied.

Wiley was convicted Tues day afternoon of ramming his vehicle into his estranged wife's car as she drove to work Nov 18, 2001. At the time, Vicki Wiley had a protective order against him and carried a cell phone pre-programmed to call 9-1-1 out of fear of her husband, Moutos said.

She was not injured in the incident, which was captured on a 9-1-1 dispatch tape.

Wiley will be sentenced by Darnell at a later date.

[email protected] 766-8707

Sometimes this state really makes me proud!

 

[Greg L]

Should have wrapped him in plastic sheeting for those 10 minutes too.

Greg

 

[Bottom Gun]

The judge merely protected the poor guy from the threat of chemical or biological attack.

 

[Blackhawk]

Wiley made a mistake. That's all.

He thought Vicki's statement would exonerate him and that his attorney had failed to include it in the evidence.

He had no control over the attorney and thought he was being railroaded. All he had left was his mouth.

Unfortunately, he also lacked the communication skills to express what he was upset about in an intelligible manner.

After he understood that Vicki's statement WAS in evidence and that it did NOT exonerate him, he behaved acceptably.

I can name several and probably know thousands of people who would have caused similar disruptions under the same circumstances.

Unfortunately for Wiley as one of them, some people just never learn to communicate instead of just verbalizing.

Good for the judge.

And good for Wiley as somebody who's not going to let himself be quietly railroaded.

 

[Ledbetter]

Make that a thousand and TWO uses.