A judge in Forsyth Superior Court ordered yesterday the release of a man who was jailed for contempt after he didn't testify against a girlfriend who was accused of assaulting him.
Prosecutors in domestic court had expected Ronald Wayne Childress Jr. to testify Tuesday against his girlfriend, Jennifer Lynn Atwood. However, when Childress took the stand, he testified that Atwood had not assaulted him.
Judge Chester Davis of District Court nonetheless found Atwood guilty of simple assault and sentenced her to four days in jail. Davis then ruled that Childress had lied under oath and sentenced him to four days in jail as well.
So what do we know about Judge CHESTER DAVIS?
(Not the same judge)
A quick google search turned up the following questionnaire:
Chester C. Davis
Home address: 1447 Country Meadow Lane, Kernersville, 27284
Date of birth: Nov. 7, 1942
Education: B.A., Davidson College; J.D., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Occupation: District Court judge
Family: Married; three children; two grandchildren
Political experience: 13 years as a judge
What makes you best qualified: I am not opposed.
my controversial book about a day in my life as Public Defender in the South Bronx is finally available for Kindle and Ipad.
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Thursday, October 13, 2005
Judge releases man jailed for contempt
Trial judge didn't follow proper procedure in case, Wood rules
By Titan Barksdale
JOURNAL REPORTER
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A judge in Forsyth Superior Court ordered yesterday the release of a man who was jailed for contempt after he didn't testify against a girlfriend who was accused of assaulting him.
Prosecutors in domestic court had expected Ronald Wayne Childress Jr. to testify Tuesday against his girlfriend, Jennifer Lynn Atwood. However, when Childress took the stand, he testified that Atwood had not assaulted him.
Judge Chester Davis of District Court nonetheless found Atwood guilty of simple assault and sentenced her to four days in jail. Davis then ruled that Childress had lied under oath and sentenced him to four days in jail as well.
Judge William Wood Jr. of Superior Court ruled yesterday that Davis did not follow the proper procedure in sending Childress to jail.
Wood did not try to determine whether Childress actually lied. But he said that a defendant must be given written notice of a contempt finding and be given an opportunity to respond. There is no record of that happening in the Childress case.
"I feel Mr. Childress should have been given the opportunity to respond," Wood said. "It's a procedural matter."
In the hearing yesterday, prosecutor Eric Saunders cited cases that he says show that a person can be held in criminal contempt and jailed if that person's testimony is obviously untruthful. Another witness had testified in domestic court Tuesday that she saw the assault, Saunders said.
Public defender Pete Clary, who sent out a memo in February about "inappropriate" contempt citations, represented Childress at the hearing. He argued that a state statute lists 10 reasons for a person to be held in contempt, and that none of them applied to Childress.
"There are other remedies for this," Clary said. "Perjury (charges) ... or to be called a damned liar."
Saunders said yesterday that it is unlikely that he will seek a perjury charge against Childress.
Childress smiled and shook Clary's hand after Wood ordered Childress' release.
Davis, who is known as one of the tougher judges in Forsyth County, did not attend the hearing.
Wood said that witnesses in domestic-assault cases often give conflicting accounts of what happened.
"I have the utmost respect for Judge Davis," Wood said.
"I understand how frustrating it can be in domestic-assault cases."
• Titan Barksdale can be reached at 727-7369 or at tbarksdale@wsjournal.com
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