mr. hastings, don t press your luck with me, son. don t or what? don t press your luck or what? you going to sentence me? is that what you re going to do? it s march 2nd, 2009, in vancouver, washington. and 30-year-old matthew hastings is in court, about to be sentenced for attempted murder. the prosecution is seeking 120 years. and apparently, hastings feels, at this point, he s got little left to lose. i don t really care you shut your damned mouth, sir. i m not going to to shut my mouth. it was a high-profile trial. here, he had shot and almost killed a police officer. in early 2009 hastings is convicted of six counts of attempted homicide and possession of firearms. charles buckley is his defense attorney. he suffers from a number of mental issues. therefore, combining his mental health issues with the pressure of being sentenced, he clearly
when you showed me your total disrespect for me as a person, for this court, for this nation, for everyone involved in the process, i see no reason to not stick with the decision i made. absolutely. i m thankful for that, your honor. that s great. you re wasting your time with me now, mr. hastings. i know how to handle a guy like you. the only thing i can say to you on behalf of all the citizens of this community, bye-bye. thank you. that s great. is that it? two words? bye-bye. come on, you re smarter than that, your honor. trying to push my buttons, son? no, i m not. but hastings clearly is. we have kids like you in my neighborhood where i was growing up and we know how to take care of you, but these police officers have been told by me that they re not to react. mr. buckley, do you want me to is that what you want? mr. hastings is that what you want? mr. hastings put mr. hastings back in his chair until we are concluded. or? hold on until i m done
i know how to handle a guy like you. the only thing i can say to you on behalf of all the citizens of this community, bye-bye. thank you. that s great. is that it? two words? bye-bye? come on, you re smarter than that, your honor. trying to push my buttons, son? no, i m not. but hastings clearly is. we have kids like you in my neighborhood when i was growing up and we know how to take care of you, but these police officers have been told by me that they re not to react. mr. buckley, do you want me to is that what you want? mr. hastings put mr. hastings back in his chair until we are concluded. or? hold on until i m done i thought you said they weren t supposed to react? sit down! judge wulle warns hastings his behavior could hurt him later. you re really hurting your case in front of the court of appeals. they re going see your record, they re going to see how you re running your mouth, your honor. bye-bye, we know how to handle kids like you, son? oka
convicted of six counts of attempted homicide and possession of firearms. charles buckley is his defense attorney. he suffers from a number of mental issues. therefore, combining his mental health issues with the pressure of being sentenced, he clearly was on edge. and things were about to set him off even more. hastings sees several deputies from the scene of his crime in the courtroom. mr. hastings was very uptight that there were so many officers in the courtroom that had been involved, which didn t help his mood any. it all begins when judge john wulle, known to discuss his rulings with the defendants, starts with a question. did you finish high school? no. buckley says hastings doesn t appreciate the history lesson and makes a face at the judge. next time, im going to have you gagged. you re going to have me gagged, huh? you re right, i am. to me, it was totally alien to everything i know happens in a court of law. i have never seen that kind of conduct in a co
mr. hastings was very uptight that there were so many officers in the courtroom that had been involved, which didn t help his mood any. it all begins when judge john wulle, known to discuss his rulings with the defendants, starts with a question. did you finish high school? no. buckley says hastings doesn t appreciate the history lesson and makes a face at the judge. next time, im going to have you gagged. you re going to have me gagged, huh? you re right, i am. to me, it was totally alien to everything i know happens in a court of law. i have never seen that kind of conduct in a court of law. defense attorney buckley sees where this is going and tries to stop it. your honor, i would ask that mr. hastings is in contempt of court at this point, counselor, and i don t think anyone would disagree with me.