The story seems straightforward enough:

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.”

Caruso now faces criminal contempt charges from the angry Judge William A. Wetzel of Manhattan Criminal Court, and the Times coverage is disapproving. (Andrew Jacobs, NY Times, Jul. 2 (via Betsy Newmark)). However, AP reports that the judge protests that Caruso “was screaming at the top of his lungs,” and Newsday notes that Caruso also gave a smart-aleck response when asked his profession, so there may be more to the story than the recounting by Caruso’s defense attorney.

Filed under: crime and punishment, jury selection