Whether we want to admit it or not, plenty of us have a sort of smartphone blindness — the person next you on the train’s phone is insufferably annoying when it rings and he can’t figure out how to make it stop, but when it happens to you, well, that’s different. Not so for one judge in Michigan, who found himself in contempt of court when his cellphone went off during closing arguments of a jury trial.

The district court judge went so far as to impose a $25 fee on himself, after his new touchscreen phone acted up inside his shirt pocket, reports the UPI.

It suddenly started asking for voice dialing commands, the judge explained, and he didn’t know how to make it stop.

“I’m guessing I bumped it. It started talking really loud, saying ‘I can’t understand you. Say something like Mom,'” he said. “My face got as red as a beet.”

He explained that just because he’s still trying to figure out how to work the darn thing, that isn’t an excuse. Especially as he expects others in his court to keep their phones quiet.

“If I cannot live by the rules that I enforce, then I have no business enforcing these rules,” he said.

Now if only everyone would feel so bad when their ABBA ring tone just. Won’t. Shut. Up.

Judge finds himself in contempt for cellphone interruption [UPI.com]

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