Sources confirm that Justice Benjamin Grant Coleman of the United States 6th Circuit Court of Appeals blocked a request by attorney Jean Laramie to make a pass to her client, Martin Wilkerson, in a game of basketball.
In a ruling handed down Tuesday, Justice Coleman stated that the Constitution of the United States did not allow passes to be made while he was on the court, stopping any hope of Mr. Wilkerson receiving the ball he had requested.
At the conclusion of a long and strenuous precoding, the judge, having already subpoenaed the basketball multiple times over the course of the game, captured it again before passing it himself to Bailiff Rick Barnes.
Members of the jury were reportedly divided over JusticeColeman’s ruling, some cheering emphatically, while others groaned and booed. “This play by the judge only adds to the excitement of the game,” says Darryl Patton, who was in attendance.
At press time, in a statement by Ms. Laramie and her defense team, the attorney said that “the judge’s decision went against the precedent set by his team and others,” and that they would be “appealing the ruling to the NBA playoffs.”
