LAWFUEL – Media Law News – R. Alexander Acosta, United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and Christina Pharo, United States Marshals for the Southern District of Florida, announced that defendant Martin Sarthou, a TV reporter for Teledoce of Uruguay, pled guilty today, in Miami, Florida, and was sentenced for criminal contempt of court by Chief United States Magistrate Judge Ted E. Bandstra.
Sarthou, while on assignment in Miami, Florida in October, 2006, to report on the extradition proceeding of a Uruguayan citizen, illegally brought electronic equipment into the federal courthouse in Miami, Florida. Without prior authorization or approval, Sarthou filmed locations and court proceedings inside the courthouse, which recordings were later shown on Uruguayan TV.
Sarthou was fined $1000 and barred from entering any federal courthouse in the Southern District of Florida, which includes courts in Key West, Miami, Fort Lauderdale, West Palm Beach, and Fort Pierce, for one year following his conviction.
Both U.S. Attorney Acosta and Marshal Pharo stressed that violations of laws, regulations, and orders regarding federal courthouse security will be strictly enforced for the protection of all who use these public buildings.
Mr. Acosta commended the investigative efforts of the United States Marshals. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney William White.
A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida at www.usdoj.gov/usao/fls. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or on http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov.
