U.S. District Chief Judge Bruce S. Jenkins is under a curse.
He told the Utah Judicial Conference in Ogden Thursday night about an incident that happened earlier this year, in which a defendant directly cursed him, not bothering to go through his lawyer.Jenkins was preparing to set a trial date, and he told the defendant that a motion the defendant had filed was dismissed.
"Your honor, I am bound by the laws of God to state to you that you are in violation of your oath," the defendant said, according to Jenkins. "That you are a criminal under the laws of this United States of America. You have been a traitor of the United States of America."
Then using the Lord's name, he commanded that "the angels speedily take your spirit to the spirit prison and there retain you until the resurrection of the unjust."
Tongue in cheek, Jenkins told the conference that he doesn't take the curse lightly. He said he read of a curse by Father Divine, a self-appointed minister who "flourished during the Depression days when I was a child." Father Divine got into trouble with the law, and after a trial, he was sentenced.
Four days later the judge died. Jenkins added, `Father Divine, in response to an interview, merely said, `I didn't really want to do it."'
Jenkins said he was offering a hope that, "God willing, may we meet together again at this time next year."
Then he launched into his speech, in which he criticized some media coverage of high-profile trials.