Warning: Free speech doesn’t always work in the courtroom.
A local game inventor was briefly thrown in jail Friday for contempt of court after he called a Santa Monica judge’s ruling “stupid” and “polite nonsense.”
The exclamations came from Stewart Lamle, who is standing trial for 10 City Hall citations for selling an invented game called “farook” on the Third Street Promenade without a business license and six more citations for illegally possessing a milk crate, which is illegal in California.
Superior Court Judge Bernard J. Kamins ruled the city didn’t have to provide copies of its milk crate prosecutions, which Lamle’s attorney, Paul Mills, had requested.
Mills argued the city was discriminating against Lamle, pointing out that one-third of the city’s milk crate citations last year targeted him.
However, Judge Kamins sided with Deputy City Attorney David Fairweather, who prosecuted the case Friday. He ruled that the city was not acting in bad faith when it continued to issue citations to Lamle.
Judge Kamins said Lamle continued to illegally possess milk crates after being issued the first citation, and therefore had created the imbalance himself.
“Even though it’s just a milk crate issue... as for the discriminatory motion, the court doesn’t feel there is enough proof the city engaged in a discriminatory action,” the judge said.
Still, Judge Kamins agreed that his decision may “seem like the tail waging the dog.” He noted that to prove discrimination Mills would first need the evidence he was being denied.
“I appreciate that you are fighting for your client and you are doing a very good job,” he said, “but I don’t believe you have proven your case.”
When Lamle attempted to address the court at that point, the judge advised him to speak only through his attorney.
“Nine times out of 10, I find defendants end up saying things that only hurt their case,” Kamins warned.
But Lamle spoke up anyway, declaring he would return to the Promenade to sell his game Friday evening because it’s his constitutional right to do so.
“You see, that was one of those nine out of 10 times,” Judge Kamins retorted. “You’re really not helping yourself out here and I would advise you to consult your attorney before speaking again.”
Judge Kamins then warned Lamle that if he didn’t control himself and his temper, he would find him in contempt of court and throw him in jail.
Lamle, visibly upset, pushed his chair away from his table and mumbled under his breath. Judge Kamins stopped the proceedings and asked Lamle to repeat what he had said.
“I said I think this is all polite nonsense — my prosecution, these proceedings, it’s all just polite nonsense,” Lamle said.
Judge Kamins asked if Lamle had called him “stupid” because that was what he thought was mumbled.
“No,” Lamle said, “I said I think these court proceedings are stupid and that this whole court situation is stupid.”
At that point, about 11 a.m., Kamins ordered the Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies in the courtroom to take Lamle into custody. Kamins held Lamle in contempt of court.
“My wife may call me that,” Judge Kamins said, “but not one of my defendants.”
“I have a really thick skin, and I take a lot of abuse in here, and usually I let people let off some steam,” he added. “But I have not seen actions like yours before.”
Judge Kamins said it was the first time in his 18 years on the bench that he had held anyone in contempt of court.
Lamle was jailed for three hours. At 2 p.m., he was brought back before Judge Kamins for a contempt hearing. After apologizing profusely to Judge Kamins and the court, Lamle was released. He was not charged or fined for his actions.
“Boy, there’s a lot of interesting people in there,” Lamle said of the jail after leaving the court. “I bet there’s a whole bunch of stories in that place.”
On Monday Kamins will assign the case to a courtroom for a full jury trial. To comply with speedy trial provisions, it must commence by Dec. 2. If convicted on all 16 misdemeanor citations, Lamle faces up to eight years in jail and $16,000 in fines.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on November 23, 2002. Read the original PDF.