Not a Good IdeaThis
is pretty funny:
It may have been an inelegant description, but Stephen Caruso said he thought he was just being honest on Thursday afternoon when a judge asked if he could be fair and impartial toward a defendant on trial for kidnapping. No, Mr. Caruso said during the voir dire portion of jury selection. "I have been held up three times at gunpoint," he said according to transcripts, adding, "I am already looking at him; I think he is a scumbag."Judge William A. Wetzel of Manhattan Criminal Court did not appreciate Mr. Caruso's candor, though, and ordered him held in contempt of court. "That is an insult not only to him, but to the other people in the room and me," Judge Wetzel said, before ordering Mr. Caruso to come back the next day.I suspect this is a generational thing. When I was a kid, the New York Times would never have published that word. But people who've grown up in the last couple decades (and Mr. Caruso is 27) have heard that word on TV, seen it in print, and don't even realize the original meaning. Indeed, the Times' writer doesn't even appear to think it's a big deal. Get this:
Mr. Caruso seemed shaken by the experience and said he never intended to insult anyone. "I'm a little disillusioned with the whole legal process right now," he said afterward. "I feel like I'm being punished for being honest."
