People can get charged with contempt when they do something during a trial that the judge believes shows disrespect to the court.

So when judge Raymond Voet’s cell phone went off during a trial on April 13, he declared himself to be in contempt. Then he had to pay his own court $25.

It happened during a speech that was being given by one of the lawyers.

The judge’s phone started “talking,” loudly speaking some voice commands.

He thinks he may have accidentally bumped it, which turned on its voice activation--a feature the judge told MLive.com he didn't even know it had.

The post Judge Finds Himself In Contempt Of Court appeared first on Teaching Kids News.

Toronto's Mayor, Rob Ford, has been removed from office--in other words, forced to stop being the mayor.

The judge's decision takes effect two weeks from now. That's when Ford must be out of his office.

Ford was elected in 2010 and had another two years to go, in his term as mayor.

Ford was found to have violated "conflict of interest" laws.

That's because when Ford was a councillor, he raised some money for the football team he coaches, using City Hall stationery.

The city's integrity commissioner -- the person who advises elected officials about ethics -- told Ford he had to give the money back. Ford refused.

When he became mayor, Ford asked council to reverse the decision.

In other words, he asked councillors to vote to let him keep the money and not have to give it back. Ford also voted in that vote.

The judge said that the mayor voting in this way was a conflict of interest.

The post Toronto Mayor Rob Ford Removed From Office appeared first on Teaching Kids News.