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SHIRLONDA BOZEMAN
§
§
l"e llCR-O.99-P
ORDER FOR ISSUANCE OF A BENCH WARRANT
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 42(b), I certify that I observed the
became extremely agitated. From the bench, Ms. Bozeman was seated on the left side of
the gallery in the courtroom. She appeared to be one of a group of people who were in
She appeared visibly upset at the length of the prison sentence. She lost her
composure. She stood up, folded her arms across her chest, and loudly leaned against the
wall. She righted herself but continued to rustle around. Her facial expression conveyed
anger. Her facial expression, coupled with her body language, concerned me. In my
experience, one person's behavior can easily influence many. I worried that her behavior
would incite others in the courtroom, which was fairly full, to become volatile and to
Her conduct was so distracting that it required me to divert my attention from the
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ongoing sentencing and focus on her improper behavior. I watched her intently until I
was able to make eye contact with her. After I made eye contact with her and looked at
her sternly, she sat down. I continued pronouncing the sentence while I considered
Within seconds of sitting down, however, she stood up, stormed out of the
courtroom noisily, and slammed the door behind her. The damage that she caused to the
door was immediately obvious. The door had a mechanism that makes it close slowly and
quietly. She grabbed the door with both hands and forced it to close. Slamming the door
broke the closing mechanism and imposed entirely unnecessary costs of repairing it on
the court.
I quickly concluded the sentencing, and several individuals followed the woman
out of the courtroom. The prosecutor who had handled the sentencing began to leave the
courtroom but stopped short of doing so. The commotion that had just occurred in the
courtroom could be heard continuing in the hallway just outside it. The prosecutor turned
around, sat down in the gallery, and delayed exiting the courtroom until the commotion
When Bozeman stormed out of the courtroom and slammed the door, I knew that
her conduct had to be addressed and I intended to do so. I considered ordering that she be
taken into custody and brought before me on the spot. Multiple proceedings were on my
docket that day, and the courtroom was full of attorneys, parties, probation officers, and
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witnesses. I wanted to maintain order in the courtroom and to minimize the disruption
she caused to the proceedings. If I had ordered her brought before me at that moment, her
delaying every subsequent matter. I decided that allowing her to leave the courtroom was
the best way to minimize the disruption. Immediately after my docket concluded, I
contacted the United States Marshal Service so that Bozeman could be brought before me
slamming the door, was loud and disruptive. Her acts were intentional. It interrupted the
divert attention from the sentencing to her. It imposed unnecessary costs on the court
consisting of repairs to the courtroom door and on the government consisting of delaying
presence, with criminal intent, and affected the proceedings such that she obstructed the
administration ofjustice.
Based on the foregoing conduct, the court hereby directs that a bench warrant be
issued for the arrest of Shirlonda Bozeman and that she be brought forthwith before the
court.
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April 6, 2011
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JO GE A. SOLIS
United States District Judge
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