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Man Goes to Jail For Contempt of Court For Saying “Thank You Jesus”

By Peter J. Smith

HONOLULU, Hawaii, July 17, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A Honolulu man may now continue his life as a free man after a judge dropped contempt of court charges. He was charged with contempt of court after verbally thanking Jesus when a jury found him “not guilty” of abusing his son, according to the Honolulu Advertiser.

Junior Stowers, 47, raised his hands and cried out “Thank you Jesus!” after the jury reached the June 29th verdict that he was “not guilty” of hitting his 15 year old son with a broomstick back in January. According to court records Stowers’ son denied his previous accusations and confessed that his brother had hit him with a car door. His brother verified this in court, freeing Stowers from misdemeanor charges of physical abuse, carrying a sentence of a year in jail.

Yet, to the utter shock of family members and Iakopo Sale, Stowers' pastor at the Assembly of God Church,  who were watching in the gallery, Stowers was accused of contempt of court for thanking Jesus for his deliverance, and was kept in custody.

Following Stowers’ “outburst,” Judge Patrick W. Border of the 1st Circuit Court in Honolulu said, “There will (be) no more of that,” and declared him in contempt of court. Although Stowers requested to approach the bench and apologize, Judge Border refused his plea and ordered him to remain in the courtroom, and then in the cellblock. He was released after 6 hours, with an order to attend a hearing on July 7th.

"I don't think there's anything about saying 'Thank you, Jesus' that rises to the level of contemptuous behavior in this case," said Deputy Public Defender Susan Arnett to the Honolulu Advertiser.

At the July 7th contempt hearing, Judge Border dropped the contempt charges against Stowers. The defense informed the judge that Stowers’ defense lawyer, Deputy Public Defender Carmel Kwock, did not have time to relay to Stowers the judge's directive that no party display emotion inside the courtroom.

In the court’s minutes, Judge Border found Stowers’ "non-verbal gestures and outbursts to be disruptive and improper regardless of content." Nevertheless his immediate impatience with Stowers, whom Arnett described as a devoutly religious man, is something that Arnett maintains she has never seen in her 20 years experience in the law.

Arnett said that a defendant is held in contempt after repeatedly ignoring warnings issued by the judge; but Stowers had not caused any trouble in the courtroom before he expressed his thanks to God. A conviction for contempt of court is a petty misdemeanor and carries a jail sentence of up to 30 days in Hawaii. “Contemptuous behavior has to be much higher than [what Stowers did],” Arnett said.

Contact Information:
Commission on Judicial Conduct
Kapuaiwa Bldg., 426 Queen Street, Room 106
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813-2914
Telephone: (808) 539-4790
Fax: (808) 539-4756
E-mail:

Note: according to the official website, “complaints about state judges should be sent in writing to the Commission and include case numbers and the names of corroborating witnesses when available, as well as supportive material such as transcripts, copies of motions, etc.”  

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