A judge in Michigan did something very unusual last week. He charged himself with “contempt of court” and gave himself a fine of $25.

People can get charged with contempt when they do something during a trial that the judge believes shows disrespect to the court.

So when judge Raymond Voet’s cell phone went off during a trial on April 13, he declared himself to be in contempt. Then he had to pay his own court $25.

It happened during a speech that was being given by one of the lawyers. The judge’s phone started “talking,” loudly speaking some voice commands. It said, “I can’t understand you. Say something like 'mom',” the judge told the Ionia Sentinel-Standard newspaper. He said his face got red as a beet from embarrassment.

Voet said he had recently gotten a new phone with a touchscreen; the phone was in his shirt pocket. He thinks he may have accidentally bumped it, which turned on its voice activation--a feature the judge told MLive.com he didn't even know it had.

Voet says he has taken many people’s phones away from them when similar things happened to them. He has taken phones from police officers, lawyers and even people sitting in the stands watching a trial.

He feels strongly that cell phones are a serious distraction in the courtroom—even his own cell phone.

Source: Judge Finds Himself In Contempt Of Court