Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge John J. Cheroske was so frustrated with attorney Steven Hollingsworth arriving at court late — or sometimes not at all — that he threw him in jail as a way of ensuring that the attorney would show up for court on time, reports the L.A. Times. The judge allowed Hollingsworth out briefly to defend his client at a hearing on a murder charge. Once the hearing was over, the defendant and his attorney were led back to the cells.
Hollingsworth spent Monday and Tuesday in jail, and Cheroske ordered his release Wednesday after a court hearing in which the attorney appeared wearing handcuffs and a yellow jailhouse uniform. The events have sparked outrage among those involved and created a stir in the Compton courthouse. Court officials say the judge’s actions marked the sixth time Hollingsworth had been cited for lateness, failure to appear in court and other strange courtroom behavior. In the latest case, Hollingsworth was representing Dashaun Finister, who is charged in the fatal shooting of a 37-year-old man during a home-invasion robbery in February.
Link: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-contempt6-2008jun06,0,7153806.story