MAN CHARGED WITH MAKING THREATENING CALLS TO JUDGE

A Cape Girardeau man could get up to seven years in prison for threatening a municipal judge, the Cape Girardeau County Prosecutor's office said.

Frank L. Snider III of 906 S. Benton St. was charged with tampering with judicial proceedings, a class C felony, said Lora Cooper, assistant prosecutor.

Judges and prosecutors say such threats rarely occur in area courts.

Snider had appeared in Cape Girardeau Municipal Court last week as a witness in a phone harassment trial. When Judge Bob Gowen ruled in favor of the defendant, Snider began yelling, saying "this is all screwed up" and various obscenities.

After leaving the courtroom, Snider made three or four phone calls within two hours to the judge's office, threatening to "jack the judge's jaw" if "something isn't done about this case," Cooper said.

Along with the felony, Snider was charged with harassment, a class A misdemeanor.

Municipal court is generally a quiet, orderly place, said Debbie Deusher, who has been city prosecutor for three years.

Threats are part of being a judge, said William Syler, chief judge of the state's 32nd Judicial District. Not long ago, a Missouri prison inmate told a corrections officer that he was going to get Syler, the judge said. Syler ignored the comment.

"People run off at the mouth," he said. "You can't take them too seriously."

A judge has to consider the nature of the case he is handling and the person making the threat, Syler said.

When Syler dealt with Andre Twitty in 1993, he admired his tenacity, but was glad to see him leave Cape Girardeau.

Twitty, a self-proclaimed "black activist" then charged with felony weapon concealment, demanded to represent himself in court after refusing to cooperate during a psychological examination. During court sessions, he used strong language, foul language and open-ended threats directed toward the judge.

"At one point he told me You know I took care of my last lawyer,'" Syler said. "What is that supposed to mean?"

Most courtroom bravado in criminal cases is for effect, he said.

"It's a show for their buddies in the orange suits," Syler said.

But criminal cases give less cause for concern than divorces and child custody matters, he said.

"Lawyers will often give us a hint about a dangerous person," Syler said. "Then we might add an extra bailiff."

Most angry moments arise after everyone has left the court, Circuit Judge John Grimm said. Words are exchanged between opposing sides in the parking lot or hallways, which is why a bailiff often escorts people to their cars, he said.

Grimm only remembers a couple of trials where everyone entering the court was checked with a metal detector.

"We've never had strict security, but something like that can be used from time to time as a deterrent," he said.