Anarchy in Tacoma

I have no doubt my daily prayers for strength and guidance to be calm, understanding and patient in this case and to do that which is fair and just in the sight of our heavenly Father have been answered.

--U.S. District Judge George Boldt

Thus assured of the wisdom of his action, Judge Boldt last week dealt with the "Seattle Seven"--the young protesters accused of conspiring to damage a federal courthouse in Seattle last winter. After declaring a mistrial in the Tacoma proceedings, Judge Boldt summarily convicted the seven of contempt, and ordered them to serve one or more six-month jail terms. Then he adamantly refused to grant bail to the defendants.

At one point during the contempt hearings, anarchy erupted. Three raucous defendants hurled a flag at the bench and screamed: "That's the flag that ought to be there next to you--the Nazi flag!" The disrupters even tore up their contempt citations.

Inexcusable Incident. The trial had promised to be far more orderly when it began last month. The defendants, to be sure, were self-styled revolutionaries, clenching their fists defiantly and spouting obscenities at law enforcement officials to prove their credentials. Still, many observers felt that able defense attorneys like Michael Tigar (TIME, Dec. 14) and a cautious judge like Boldt could control any courtroom antics.

But when six of the defendants* refused to enter the courtroom because their partisans had been denied entry to the courthouse lobby, Tigar and the other defense lawyers stood by helplessly. Judge Boldt demanded that the defendants enter. When they balked, he declared a mistrial and cited them for "one of the most inexcusable and outrageous incidents of contempt of court that I have ever read about or learned of in any way."

Immediate Action. Equally upset, Tigar called the judge's ruling "a patently transparent attempt to deny defendants the rights vindicating their innocence." Some legal observers questioned the necessity of a mistrial. Boldt could have continued the trial with the defendants in custody or awaiting the start of their contempt sentences. It was never clear that the jury had been prejudiced by the defendants' absence from the courtroom. Some jurors even expressed disappointment that they had not been able to see the trial through.

Even so, the judge did precisely what Judge Julius Hoffman was criticized for not doing in the similar Chicago Seven conspiracy trial last year. Instead of nailing the defendants for contempt after the trial, as Hoffman did, Boldt acted at once. As for the defendants, if their appeals fail, they variously face from six months to a year in jail to ponder their courtroom manners.

*The seventh was ill, but was later cited for misconduct in the courtroom.

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