Monday July 17, 2006
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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