A Texas judge placed a mother in handcuffs after she appeared in court wearing shorts and was seen taking a photo with her cell phone.
A video of the interaction between District Court Judge Stephanie Boyd saw the woman being reprimanded by the judge for her choice of clothing and violating courtroom rules for using her phone.
The particularly cranky exchange has been viewed more than 18 million times on TikTok.
It led to TikTok viewers making their own judgments as they called out the judge for her “ridiculously harsh” treatment of the woman who had been in court to support her son.
Judge Stephanie Boyd of the Texas 187th District Court is receiving criticism
Judge Boyd became impatient with a woman wearing shorts in the courtroom and using her cell phone
Viewers initially see the woman approach the bank in a blue blouse and white shorts as she is summoned by the judge.
‘You! Come forward!’, the judge demanded, summoning the lady. Why are you in this court wearing shorts?’ Judge Boyd asks curtly.
“I’m sorry, I… I’ve never actually been in court,” the woman replies.
But there is little sympathy from Judge Boyd who asks the woman to hand over her phone immediately.
Boyd then calls for a court representative to come over and asks him to delete the photo she is accused of taking.
“Who were you taking pictures of?” the judge wants to know.
“Oh, I just wanted to let my daughter know that my son is doing well,” the woman replies meekly.
“No, my question is, who did you take pictures of?” the judge asks again, growing increasingly angry.
The woman was asked to explain why she was wearing shorts and using her phone
The courtroom deputy was called to delete the last photo on the woman’s cell phone
“My son Rick,” explains the woman, whose son turns out to be the suspect in the trial the judge was presiding over.
The judge appears to have decided that she calls the courtroom deputy to handcuff her, while asking him to delete the last photo the woman took with her phone.
“Give your phone to the deputy. Leave your phone open and do not close it. Okay, so deputy sir, if you’re going to put her in cuffs because you want to be next to her son, then put her in the coffin,” the judge orders as the officers place her in plastic hand restraints.
“My apologies, ma’am, I didn’t know that,” the woman says again.
“Oh, I appreciate your apology,” the judge responds.
The officer then placed the woman in handcuffs and marched her out of the courtroom
The video has gone viral online and many have questioned the judge’s own judgment.
“The judge goes way out of line,” Cathrin wrote in one of many comments in the same vein.
“Wow, what an attitude the judge has,” said Sam.
“Wow, too much power and not enough compassion,” John added with his take on what he had just seen.
‘That was mean. A little too loud,” Jamilia said.
“The judge is way out of line,” said another viewer.
But others seemed to understand the judge’s situation.
“There is an expected level of etiquette in court,” one person wrote. “They also announce before the judge comes out to put away all the phones.”
“I understand the phone thing because the rules are everywhere and that tells you that, but I’ve never heard of no shorts in court,” a user named Brandy added.
