A Guilford County judge cited an assistant public defender with criminal contempt on Monday and sentenced him to five days in jail, according to court records.
Juan Felipe Zuluaga, 54, is a 16-year veteran with the Guilford County Public Defender’s Office, according to his LinkedIn page. He is also a U.S. Army veteran, serving as a platoon leader during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2010. For four years, he worked part-time as a Judge Advocate General (JAG) officer for the U.S. Army National Guard.
Guilford District Court Judge Ashley Watlington-Simms cited Zuluaga on Monday during a hearing in Courtroom 3C at the High Point courthouse. Watlington-Simms alleged that Zuluaga “refused to accept the ruling of the court and engaged in disrespectful outbursts and arguments,” according to a court document.
Watlington-Simms also alleged that Zuluaga’s conduct was so severe that it delayed hearings for other pending court cases that were on the docket. She said she told Zuluaga four or five times to stop his “contemptuous conduct” and leave the courtroom. Zuluaga refused to go, she said.
“Even after multiple warning(s), counsel willfully continued to engage in further commentary in the open court and delayed proceedings for other respondents,” she said in the court document.
Watlington-Simms sentenced Zuluaga to five days in the Guilford County Jail in High Point. The maximum for criminal contempt is 30 days in jail.
On Monday, Zuluaga was in court representing at least four different clients, according to an online docket. Court records don’t show which criminal defendant Zuluaga was representing at the time Watlington-Simms cited him for contempt.
The court documents don’t provide any specific detail about what led to Zuluaga’s alleged outburst or why he would have objected to Watlington-Simms’ ruling.
Zuluaga has filed a notice of appeal to Guilford Superior Court. On Wednesday, he appeared before Superior Court Judge Jason E. Ramey, who ordered him not to have any contact with Watlington-Simms. He was released on a $500 unsecured bond. Zuluaga did not return a message at his work phone seeking comment.
His attorney, Preston Harry Edwards, could not be immediately reached for comment. Chief Public Defender Jennifer Rierson also could not be reached for comment.
Watlington-Simms did not respond to a request for comment. She is the same judge who more than three years ago ordered bailiffs to seize the notes of then-Greensboro News & Record reporter Kenwyn Caranna and then issued a gag order. The paper and Caranna are appealing Watlington-Simms’ ruling, and their attorney, Mike Tadych, recently petitioned the North Carolina Supreme Court to intervene (Tadych also represents The Assembly). Tadych alleges in the petition that Watlington-Simms has blocked his attempts to effectively appeal her rulings on the seized notes and the gag order.
A hearing in Guilford Superior Court is scheduled for October 5.
