Freedom to Remain Silent

Power corrupts; absolutely power corrupts absolutely. My opinion is that this statement is apropos to Judge Littlejohn's heavy-handed handling of Attorney Lampley's choice to remain silent. Also, Mr. Martin's statement was dumber than dirt. Apparently he hasn't a clue with regard to the Bill of Rights ... which contains the first ten amendments to the US Constitution.

The preceding was prompted by an AP article in the local paper last Thursday.

Today an editorial concerning the freedom NOT to speak followed up that article. What follows is not verbatim.

An arrogantly overbearing Mississippi judge in Lee County jailed an attorney for a few hours last week because the lawyer would not recite the Pledge of Allegiance in the courtroom.

Wire reports of the incident say that at the beginning of a court session on Wednesday morning, Chancellor Talmadge Littlejohn ordered everyone in the courtroom to stand up and recite the Pledge of Allegiance.

An attorney, Danny Lampley of Oxford, stood but did not repeat the pledge. The judge then urged the attorney, who was in court for a client’s separate hearing, to reconsider his refusal. When Lampley stood fast, the judge found him in contempt of court and sent him to the county jail.

The attorney was in jail for four or five hours before the judge ordered his release. His court order said, “Lampley shall purge himself of said criminal contempt by complying with the order of this Court by standing and reciting the Pledge of Allegiance in open court,” but the attorney stuck to his principles.

“I don’t have to say it because I’m an American,” Lampley told the Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal. He acknowledged that the two clearly have a problem with each other, but said it’s for them to work out.

It turns out that Lampley knows something of the First Amendment. Several years ago he represented a Pontotoc woman who successfully argued that student-led prayer and Bible classes at a school are unconstitutional.

Though Lampley’s refusal to recite the pledge offended some, e.g., one being the aforementioned self employed Mr. Martin. Equally bothersome is the judge’s insistence that everyone in the courtroom recite it.

The Pledge of Allegiance ... 31 simple words that help define what a great country we live in. However, forcing anyone ... even children and, especially, adults ... to recite the pledge, makes a mockery of what it stands for.

Any judge has a lot of authority, especially in his/her courtroom. He/she makes decisions every day that affect lives, and is certainly entitled to set rules in the courtroom for proper behavior and decorum.

Requiring people in attendance to recite the Pledge, or any other statement, falls far outside those boundaries. The judge is to be admired for his patriotism and appreciation for his country. However, his decision to put someone in jail for failing to recite the Pledge of Allegiance is disgraceful.

Any pledge given under threat of imprisonment is meaningless. Sometimes the freedom of speech gives a person the freedom not to speak. This was one of those times.