The 22-year-old Somerville never imagined that it was because he slept once unintentionally that he would become a person with a criminal record.
In fact, Somerville is not lazy. He usually goes to bed early and wakes up early, works hard, and respects his elders at home. This is a good young man in people’s minds. Otherwise, the community will not be elected as a civil servant in West Palm Beach County, Florida. The jury of the case is out. The day before he took up his duties, the court staff specifically called again and emphasized that the hearing will be held at 9:30 the next day. All personnel must arrive 30 minutes in advance, and they must be held accountable for being late or absent.
However, an accident occurred. When he woke up the next day, Somerville found that it was three shots in the sun, and it was almost ten o'clock. Somerville was deeply upset that something went wrong at the critical moment. Are you going to participate in the jury? It made him hesitate. At this time, it was obviously meaningless to call the person in charge of the court to ask for leave or explain the situation. If you drive or take a car, I am afraid that the trial will be over long before he arrives. He wondered that even if he had to take responsibility, he would probably be reprimanded and pay a fine at most. It was not a big deal, so he left the matter behind.
It was not until the morning three days later that a policeman came to the door with a court summons, saying that he had broken the law and had to be tried, and Somerville realized that the situation was much more serious than expected.
In fact, Somerville got up late that day for a reason. In a family of three generations, in addition to taking care of his ill grandfather, he also had to help his mother take care of a small shop outside of work. That night, Grandpa felt an unbearable headache and worried that the old man would be unexpectedly unpredictable. Somerville took him to the hospital without hesitation. Although Grandpa's body was in the end, he was in no trouble, but after some tossing down, the clock was pointing to 3 AM. Resting late at night prevented Somerville from getting up in time as usual, causing a fundamental change in his identity from a glorious juror to a defendant in violation of laws and regulations.
The trial judge Hans, who knew the truth, expressed deep sympathy, but resolutely rejected Somerville's plea of innocence. The judge believes that Somerville, as an adult, should have a basic pre-judgment of the consequences of falling asleep too late and failing to get up in time. He knew that there would be a very important trial to attend the next day, but he did not adopt corresponding measures. To ensure that you get to the court on time. To take a step back, when he really wakes up late, he should actively remedy it and notify the court as soon as possible. There is no evidence that he took action. Although he was very conflicted and entangled in this, the established facts cannot be changed.
At that time, in order to wait for Somerville's arrival, the court had to postpone the trial of the civil case for nearly an hour, but after all he did not see his appearance, and the assistant judge even called him more than once, but he did not get through. . Somerville wasted the time of the participants and failed to abide by the minimum rules of integrity. This is not a small mistake, not to mention that he has long been aware of the relevant precautions, but has not taken it seriously. Although he cannot be proved to be subjective and intentional, he cannot escape the suspicion of contempt of court, which is tantamount to a crime. In Judge Hans’s opinion, although escorting grandpa to see a doctor cannot be a reason for Somerville’s absence, his filial piety is commendable and his sentiment is excusable. In addition, he has a good attitude of admitting mistakes. Weir was imprisoned for 15 days and suspended for one year, with a fine of $1,000 and 150 hours of voluntary service to the community.
