Drug Defendants' Jewelry Seized by Judge
Posted on: Friday, 23 January 2004, 06:00 CST
A judge who was criticized for handcuffing a public defender for courtroom rudeness also has seized jewelry from drug court defendants on three occasions for failing to pay fees.
Circuit Judge Margaret Waller took the jewelry from people involved in a program that eases punishment for those arrested on drug offenses if they submit to treatment and regular testing. The unconventional practice was frowned on by Orange-Osceola Chief Judge Belvin Perry, State Attorney Lawson Lamar and Public Defender Robert Wesley.
"It's outrageous," said Steven Mason, a member of the board of directors for the Central Florida Association of Civil Defense Lawyers. "Imagine if judges were empowered to just say, 'I'm going to take this property from you right now, right here.' They would have unlimited carte-blanche power, open to arbitrariness and corruption."
Waller has since discontinued the practice. But she said that she took jewelry from drug-court participants because she wanted to persuade the deadbeats to hand over the money they owed.
"One client came in and was several months behind. He wore diamond jewelry and gold chains. It became a joke in court," Waller said.
When threats of work release and other sanctions failed, Waller asked for the man's jewelry, put it in an envelope and marked it. She said she returned the items once clients paid their bills, keeping them in her locked chambers if they remained in her possession overnight.
Waller was criticized earlier this month after she became exasperated with Orange-Osceola Assistant Public Defender Kemie King during a violation-of-probation hearing and declared the lawyer was in contempt. On the judge's orders, King was handcuffed and seated in the jury box beside her clients while the judge continued with her court docket.
The move caused a flap over courtroom conduct and led the National Bar Association, the nation's largest association of black lawyers, judges and law students, to review the incident. King is black; Waller is white.
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