A Sweet Home man was arrested and briefly jailed after he left a court hearing Wednesday because a judge demanded he put on a mask.
John Kulbeth was scheduled to appear in court for a harassment charge and a traffic violation. When he showed up Wednesday morning, he said a court clerk told him masks were required in the courtroom.
“It’s my choice, and I’m not going to wear one. I’ll talk to the judge,” Kulbeth, in an interview with The Oregonian/OregonLive, said he told the clerk.
Earlier this month, Gov. Kate Brown ordered masks be worn when people are in stores or other indoor public spaces in seven Oregon counties. Linn County, where Sweet Home is located, was not among them.
When the judge entered the courtroom, which held a box of masks and signs saying they were required, he told Kulbeth he needed to put one on. Kulbeth said he told the judge he had health issues and would not wear one. Kulbeth said he doesn’t have any philosophical opposition to wearing a mask and doesn’t judge those who do, but recurring bouts of pneumonia have left him with a sensitive respiratory system.
The judge threatened him with contempt of court, according to Kulbeth.
“I said ‘Fine, I’ll just leave,‘” Kulbeth said.
He went out to his truck with his daughter, who accompanied him to the courthouse. The police chief, who was in the courtroom, came out and told him the judge had issued a warrant for his arrest on charges of contempt of court and failure to appear.
Kulbeth called his wife, who came and picked up his daughter, and he was led back inside and held in a cell for about 90 minutes before the judge came back to talk to him. The judge granted him a continuance for the proceeding and told him he needed to wear a mask in the courtroom, Kulbeth said.
Kulbeth said he had no idea a mask would be required, a claim disputed by Ray Towry, the city manager in Sweet Home. Towry said a notice to appear was sent out May 28 with a paragraph spelling out new court procedures in light of the coronavirus pandemic.
Towry said that if Kulbeth had a medical issue that needed accommodation, the court would have obliged, but Kulbeth never asked for such treatment.
“He claimed medical issues, but he did not give the judge a chance to work out any accommodation,” Towry said.
Towry also said Kulbeth was not arrested because he refused to wear a mask, rather because he walked out of the courtroom.
“Anytime anyone walks out in the middle of an interaction with a judge, that’s contempt,” Towry said. “Regardless of the reason, you cannot do that in a courtroom. It was his behavior that got the warrant for his arrest, not the mask.”
Kulbeth and Towry met Thursday and had a respectful discussion, but Kulbeth said he doesn’t think the judge has the authority to mandate everyone who enters his courtroom must wear a mask. Towry said if Kulbeth presents any evidence the judge acted out of line with his authority, they city would be open to revisiting the issue.
“In our research over the past 24 hours, we haven’t found anything” that says the judge exceeded his authority, Towry said.
-- Kale Williams; kwilliams@oregonian.com; 503-294-4048; @sfkale
Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories.
"sweet" - Google News
June 27, 2020 at 03:11AM
https://ift.tt/3dE8bMr
Sweet Home man who refused judge’s order to wear mask in courtroom jailed for contempt - OregonLive
"sweet" - Google News
https://ift.tt/2PcPlld
https://ift.tt/2KSpWvj
Bagikan Berita Ini
0 Response to "Sweet Home man who refused judge’s order to wear mask in courtroom jailed for contempt - OregonLive"
Post a Comment