I heard this on NPR this morning and wanted to share it:

Judge Robert Restaino did not adapt well to an intrusion of modern life. A cell phone went off in his courtroom. And the judge said he’d throw everybody in jail if the offender didn’t step forward. Nobody did, and 46 people were thrown behind bars. The judge has now lost his job for that 2005 incident. The head of the New York State judicial commission calls his ruling “madness.”

Sources: NPR and the Guardian

Voting in California couldn’t be anymore taxing on the voters. Tomorrow on Super Duper Tuesday, California will not only vote on the presidential primaries but also Propositions 91, 92, 93, 94, 95, 96, and 97.

Day to Day this morning jokingly explained the state of voting in California:

In California, voters need to go to night school to be informed. Or swallow a mouth full of dextrin, drink a pot of coffee as you pull an all-nighter, cramming for the civics test you’ll face at the polls tomorrow.

Even though I have a college degree, democracy in the State of California is overwhelming and above my head.

The LA Times saw a need for help and has posted a page where voters can read up on ballot measures, mark their votes, and text their plans to their mobile phone or email. That way, when they are in the booth, the can decipher which intuitive is for a gas tax and which is for Indian gambling.

Go ahead, get rid of your voting anxiety here.