Contempt of court in "Roman J. Israel, Esq."
In the legal drama film "Roman J. Israel, Esq.", the protagonist attorney is fined $5,000 for court contempt because, during a preliminary hearing, he claimed that the civil rights of his client had been violated and he continued to pursue that after the judges told him that he can address that at trial. Part of the scene is even in the movie trailer.
The transcript is the following:
Roman: Objection. Motion to strike. Mr. Ramirez was told he was not under arrest and was interrogated without his Miranda warning, yet he was refused use of the bathroom. That is a violation of civil rights.
Judge: Overruled.
Roman: If a cop hauls you in and says you can't use the bathroom, then you're being detained...
Judge: We are moving on...
Roman: What was he supposed to do, pee himself?
Judge: You can address this at trial.
Roman: I would like to address it now. I'm just saying we have a real...
Judge: Mr. Israel. Did you hear what I said?
Roman: If armed guards in this courtroom detained you and would not allow you to use the bathroom you would be detained. What is good for the goose is good for the gander.
Judge: I'm gonna hold you in contempt if you pursue this.
Roman: With respect, you're asking me to obey an erroneous court decision.
Judge: Find you in contempt.
Is this legal? And if so, would such decision make sense or would actually be easily overturned in appeal/cause problems to the judge/court... in other words, something a real judge would not do.
Best Answer
Obligatory disclaimer: I am not a lawyer.
In court, the judge's word is law. Literally. The decisions they make at the end of a trial form the legal precedent for later, similar trials. If you disrespect the authority of the judge, you are disrespecting the authority of the court, and by extension, disrespecting the law. This is what "contempt of court" means.
The specific law governing this in the USA is Title 18 of the US Code, § 401 (emphasis mine):
A court of the United States shall have power to punish by fine or imprisonment, or both, at its discretion, such contempt of its authority, and none other, as—
(1) Misbehavior of any person in its presence or so near thereto as to obstruct the administration of justice;
(2) Misbehavior of any of its officers in their official transactions;
(3) Disobedience or resistance to its lawful writ, process, order, rule, decree, or command.
The third one is why Roman was found in contempt. The judge overruling Roman's objection was a clear order that he should stop pursuing his point. Roman ignored them and continued. The judge then told him to stop on four further occasions, even outright telling him he would be in contempt of court if he continued, but Roman persisted, so eventually the judge had no choice but to find him in contempt.
The judge's actions were perfectly legal and sensible. Roman was quite clearly in contempt of court, and should have argued that point at trial as the judge suggested. As for whether the fine could be overturned, I really can't say. Again, I am not a lawyer.
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Images: Brett Jordan, Yudha Aprilian, RODNAE Productions, Antonius Ferret