Case 3:11-cr-00099-P Document 1 Filed 04/06/11 Page 1 of 4 PageID 1

IN THE:UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT

FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF TEXAS
DALLAS DIVISION

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA §

§
v. § No.3:11-CR-_ _

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

following in my courtroom on March 9,2011, during my weekly criminal docket:

As I pronounced the sentence of defendant Brandon Bozeman, Shirlonda Bozeman

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

court specifically to observe Brandon Bozeman's sentencing.

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

disrupt the proceedings.

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

whether additional action was necessary.

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

could not longer be heard in the courtroom.

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

misbehavior would have had an even greater impact on courtroom proceedings by

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

and her misconduct addressed.

Bozeman's conduct in the courtroom, including her storming out of it and

slamming the door, was loud and disruptive. Her acts were intentional. It interrupted the

orderly administration ofjustice. It made more work for me because it forced me to

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

the prosecutor from leaving the courtroom. Bozeman misbehaved in my immediate

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

c;J5< a ~
JO GE A. SOLIS
United States District Judge

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