INGHAM COUNTY, MI — A Michigan judge reached her limit during a contentious pre-trial hearing, sentencing a non-compliant felony defendant to 93 days in jail for direct contempt of court after he repeatedly shouted over the bench and refused to stop interrupting prosecutors.
The dramatic proceeding before Judge Rosemarie Aquilina involved 30-year-old defendant Le Tyrone Evans, who is facing a 10-year felony charge of Assault with Intent to Do Great Bodily Harm / Strangulation.
A History of Firing Public Defenders
The hearing began with public defender Sarah Odoni informing the court of an absolute breakdown in the attorney-client relationship. Odoni noted that she was Evans’s third appointed attorney after previous public defenders withdrew due to Evans’s refusal to accept legal counsel.
According to Odoni, Evans consistently attempted to dictate legal strategy, insisted on filing meritless motions, and hurled accusations of fraud whenever attorneys corrected his misunderstandings of criminal procedure.
“In my opinion, there is no attorney that could have a relationship with Mr. Evans,” Odoni testified. “He continually tries to advise his attorney about the law and not listen… He can either represent himself or change his attitude and start listening.”
Judge Aquilina warned Evans that he was rapidly exhausting all available court-appointed defense counsel, cautioning him that self-representation would be disastrous for a 10-year felony trial.
The 180-Day Rule Obsession
Evans took over the microphone to demand an immediate dismissal of his charges under Michigan’s 180-day rule, claiming his constitutional rights were violated because he had been incarcerated for over six months without going to trial.
Judge Aquilina flatly rejected the argument, patiently explaining that the 180-day clock pauses under several legal exceptions:
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Forensic Evaluations: Evans underwent mandatory mental health competency evaluations at the State Forensic Center.
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Defense Delays: Time spent replacing three separate attorneys at Evans’s request does not count against the prosecution.
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Public Safety & Criminal History: Judges can extend pre-trial detention past 180 days for public safety concerns, particularly in cases involving severe assault, strangulation, or prior failures to appear.
Unsatisfied with the judge’s ruling, Evans repeatedly talked over Judge Aquilina, accusing his previous attorneys and another judge of lying, fraud, and illegal detention.
Interrupting Himself Into 93 Days
As the prosecutor attempted to outline Evans’s record—noting that Evans had already accumulated prior 93-day contempt sentences from another judge—Evans interjected again, shouting that the prior court orders were “done out of fraud.”
Judge Aquilina issued a final, explicit warning:
“Here’s how we’re going to handle this: You interrupt counsel, I’m going to start imposing 93 days,” Judge Aquilina declared. “And let me just tell you, contempt does not go against 180 days! When you’re in the forensic center, it does not go against 180 days!”
Ignoring the warning, Evans continued to shout over the judge.
Executing her warning immediately, Judge Aquilina cut him off, ordered deputies to remove him, and tacked on a 93-day sentence for criminal contempt:
“Switching 93 days! Bye, I’ll see you in 93 days!” Judge Aquilina announced as deputies escorted him behind the courtroom doors. “We’re done! See you in 93 days! Contempt. I can’t get a sentence out, we can’t understand what’s going on, so 93 days.”
After Evans was removed from the courtroom, Judge Aquilina agreed to hold follow-up motion hearings in the coming weeks to allow the defense to build a clean record for appellate review while keeping the pending felony trial moving forward.
Full video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IHEJW-74Ohg