Lawyer out of jail after failing to 'pledge' allegiance

Lawyer out of jail after failing to 'pledge' allegiance

nems360.com

TUPELO – Attorney Danny Lampley of Oxford was out of the Lee County Jail after more than 4 1/2 hours of thinking about why he refused to recite the U.S. Pledge of Allegiance today.
Chancellor Talmadge Littlejohn ordered Lampley jailed shortly after court began in Tupelo this morning.

Eyewitnesses said Littlejohn asked the court audience to rise and repeat the pledge. Lampley rose but failed to vocalize the words to the pledge, an act he has done before, apparently to the judge's consternation

(visit the link for the full news article)

What the?

Maybe somebody versed in the law can help me out here, but is it against the law to refuse the recital of the pledge of allegiance?

Now I know this is going to likely create some heated debate. Especially in recent times with our country literally being dismantled by the scoundrels running it, and talks of states going sovereign.

I'm guessing that refusal to obey a judges order is the actual cause behind this guys incarceration, but is recital an actual mandatory law? This is definitely a different case...

nems360.com
(visit the link for the full news article)

Judge thinks he is god.



Pledge allegiance or gulag4u!

This is hard to believe.

Also you will remember that Pres. Obama did not salute the flag. I don't think he was sent to the pokey for it. As a matter of fact, I admired him for taking this stance.





Personally, I would not say the pledge. Nationalism is just one more thing to divide people. And not only that, but people need to consider the bloodguilt associated with their actions.

He rose thats all that is necessary. Some people pledge in there head, some are just shy. Hope he sues n gets a good lawyer.

Originally posted by Alethea
Also you will remember that Pres. Obama did not salute the flag. I don't think he was sent to the pokey for it.

He was not in a court of law and
he was not ordered by a judge to do so.
But he did swear on the Bible to take
the oath of office (or am I mistaken???)

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


He did not violate any laws. He did however piss the judge off, who most likely found him in contempt of the court, which is most likely why he ended up in jail.

The judge needs to be reprimanded by the senior judge for his circuit for this. Its a 1st amendment issue imo, with people exersizing their right to say the pledge, and others excersising their rights to refuse it (form of protest).

Had a prosecuting attorny filed charges they would be reprimanded / disbared for prosecutorial misconduct.

Originally posted by DimensionalDetective


What the?

Maybe somebody versed in the law can help me out here, but is it against the law to refuse the recital of the pledge of allegiance?

No, but it is against the law to be in contempt of the court.

This lawyer isn't to bright, it's not a good idea to piss of the judge in a case you're trying to win.

reply to post by NOTurTypical


Definitely agreed---Not sure I would want this guy fighting for my case, as him being tossed in jail wouldn't exactly be the most beneficial for a client.

That being said, aren't judges supposed to be held to some sort of professional conduct as well? Such as not letting 'pissing them off' be a reason to lock someone up, despite no actual LAW being broken?

Now that we've established that there WAS NO law broken, this seems to be quite an abuse of power. I agree with others that this judge should be held accountable, and either fired, sued, or both.

Originally posted by NOTurTypical


No, but it is against the law to be in contempt of the court.

This lawyer isn't to bright, it's not a good idea to piss of the judge in a case you're trying to win.

So basically if a judge orders people to stand up and do jumping jacks and they refuse they can be jailed for contempt? The judge is a megalomaniac and needs to be reprimanded for his tyrannical abuse of the bench.

reply to post by bozzchem


Technically yes, if someone refuses they can be put in jail for contempt. Generally speaking ive rarely seen it used in court. I've seen judges threaten both proescution and defense, depending on what they are trying to do in the court. Usually they try to get something in when they are not supposed to, which causes it.

Judges normally are smarter than the one in the article. There is some recourse, usually in the way of a senior judge overriding, appologizing to the court, or filing a complaint with an ethics panel most states have in place for judge issues.

In this case, without any other info, I think the judge went bonkers for no reason. He needs to be reprimanded and warned about further abuse of his authority.

A follow up article on this bizzare case---The attorney is starting to speak up about it, and it appears this judge has been involved in other controversies in the past as well...Why he has not been removed and is allowed to continue is beyond me...

“This morning, [ending up behind bars] was the last thing on my mind," Lampley told the Daily Journal. He added that he and the judge have a "different point of view" about things like loyalty oaths and the pledge of allegiance. "I don't have to say it because I'm an American," he said. But, he added, "I have a lot of respect for him …I'm just not going to back off on this.”

Full Article:

www.alternet.org...

reply to post by DimensionalDetective


He probably was acting up before hand and the judge considered his attitude to be in contempt of court. I'm sure there's more to this. Something tells me once I hear the whole story I'd probably be at least 50/50 split on the issue, If not in favor of the judge.

That lawyer needs to find a new line of work. I DO NOT agree with the Judge, but the lawyer should be smart enough to go along until his case has been heard and then file a complaint with the Bar Association, and the head of the Court.

Originally posted by JIMC5499
That lawyer needs to find a new line of work. I DO NOT agree with the Judge, but the lawyer should be smart enough to go along until his case has been heard and then file a complaint with the Bar Association, and the head of the Court.

I completely disagree. We should not have to be forced, then thrown in jail, because of something we are not required to do in the first place. Giving this situation any type of validity, IE waiting till afterwards to file a complaint, is part of the slippery slope issue.

There is no Law Violation, only the contempt of the judge, which in my opinion is an unchecked power that this judge used incorrectly and innapropriately. The Judge needs to be remprimanded and owes the lawyer an apology.

Just wow, seems like the judge could use a little time out of the robe and come back to reality a bit. I completely agree that respect should be shown to a judge in his courtroom, I have no issue with that, but it's way outta line for the judge to hold him in contempt for not citing the pledge of allegiance. Sounds like an abuse of power to me.