Legal Question in Traffic Law in Pennsylvania

I had traffic court yesterday and I presented my case to the judge. When presenting my case of how I did not realize I ran through a red light because of an obstruction of the light the judge had a response of �Yes I know that intersection it is a tricky one�. The judge then found my guilty. I asked �If that was it� and the judge says �Yes you can appeal if you want. You will receive papers in the mail within 30 days.� I started to leave the courtroom and mumbled to myself �This is a crock� not realizing the judge heard me. I continued to exit the courtroom not realizing the judge said come back here. There were 6 police offices in the room. I walked out into the parking lot and I hear a �HEY�. I turn around and it�s the judge in the parking lot. He says �didn�t you hear me calling you.� I said �what are you talking about?� He says �I told you to come back here; you want 30 days in jail.� I said �But Judge� and he said �Sixty Days, you want to make it 90, keep talking�. Then he said �You will receive papers in the mail.� I left without saying anything further. My question is, do I have a chance of getting time in jail for this? Shouldn�t I have gone right there if I was going to jail or was he just throwing his weight around?� I didn�t realize the judge was talking to me as I was leaving the courtroom. There were 6 other people in there and he didn�t address me by name so I had no idea he was talking to me. If he was going to give me jail time, why did he let me leave? Can he give me jail time coming in the mail?


Asked on 7/28/11, 5:33 am

1 Answer from Attorneys
Andrew Solomon Law Office of Andrew A. Solomon

A judge can hold you in "civil contempt of court" and can have you imprisoned for not abiding by the court's order. I think if he was really going to jail you, he would have done so on the spot. You should always be very careful what you say within the hearing of a judge. In some respects, judges have unlimited powers. Hypothetically, he could have held you in contempt, jailed you, and you would have had to hire a lawyer to get you out. Not all judges are like this, but some are, and they do not like to have their authority questioned. Always treat the court with respect no matter what you feel inside. Once you get out of the courthouse, you can say whatever you want.

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Answered on 8/01/11, 11:37 am


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