The COVID-19 pandemic has meant we have to do everyday things in a very different way, with school, work, and even court hearings being held largely online. While most people have mastered proper decorum when it comes to professionalism online these days, the same couldn’t be said for one defendant who logged onto his recent Zoom-based court hearing with an extremely inappropriate name and got told off by the judge for it.
- Nathaniel Saxton was charged with one count of possession of drug paraphernalia. He logged onto his arraignment hearing in the court of Judge Jeffrey Middleton in St. Joseph County, Michigan on Tuesday, May 11. The hearing was broadcast on YouTube. “Then we’ll bring this fool in,” Middleton said in the hearing while introducing Saxton, whose display name was more than a little offensive.
- Saxton appeared in the Zoom hearing as “Buttf***er3000.” As you can probably imagine, that’s not his real name and Judge Middleton was none too pleased to see this immature and disrespectful stunt. Middleton admonished him, saying: “Your name’s not Buttf**er 3000, you yo-ho, logging in to my court with that as your screenname.” He later added: “What kind of idiot logs into court like that?”
- Saxton insisted he never typed that screenname. However, Middleton kicked him out of the court hearing temporarily, and when he returned, Saxton had removed the offensive name and now IDed himself as Nathaniel “Saxaon.” Yes, he even misspelled his real name. He apologized to Middleton and said he was embarrassed and that the previous name was an inside joke and that his sister had set up his account.
- Ultimately, he pleaded guilty to the charge against him. Saxton was found by police with items including a used syringe that later tested positive for meth residue. He initially pleaded not guilty until he realized that the fine for this crime is only $200, at which point he changed his mind. Had he continued with a not guilty plea, he potentially faced a $500 fine and 90 days behind bars. However, Judge Middleton reminded him that he could have been found guilty of contempt of court due to his screenname stunt.
