Abandon all phones, ye who enter here
Dante's famous phrase “Lasciate ogne speranza, voi ch'intrate” in Divina Commedia (“Abandon all hope, ye who enter here”) has found an unlikely modern application in the US courts.
Judge Lawrence F Clark of Dauphin County, Pennsylvania, achieved fame in 2004 when he ordered a sheriff#39;s deputy to throw a cell phone from his 5th floor courtroom window. The offending phone belonged to a Francisco R Quintana who apparently had taken several calls (but always left the court room) before the judge lost his temper.
According to an article, Lake County Criminal Court Judge Diane Boswell meted out a milder punishment to five #39;suspects#39; who didn#39;t own up.
Another judge famous for his low resistance to this anomie is DuPage County Associate Judge Edmund Bart who took extreme offence to Traffic Court visitors which allow phones or pagers to ring in his court.
But the undisputed people#39;s champion against this public annoyance is Judge Robert Restaino.
January 2008
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