Miscellaneous

Hoosier Melee

By Anne Skove, Esq.

It's not cool to punch the victim assistance worker.

As if to debunk our hypothesis that criminal defendants are on their best behavior in court, and that family cases require more security, a courtroom brawl erupted in the Allen County Courthouse.

The background: the defendant was charged with voluntary manslaughter for a 2007 fatal shooting. Brothers of the victim, possibly mistaking the defendant's relative for the defendant himself, got into a fight with the defendant's cousins.

The victim assistance worker who tried to break up the fight (that can't possibly be in the job description) was punched in the arm as thanks.

See Four Arrested in Courthouse Brawl, AP, IndyStar (August 27, 2008).

Full post as published by court-o-rama.org on August 27, 2008 (boomark / email).