- Alex Jones' attorney, Norm Pattis, presented closing arguments in the Sandy Hook hoax case Thursday.
- Pattis was reprimanded when he warned the jury that opposing counsel would "attack" him in their rebuttal.
- Judge Barbara Bellis said she wouldn't tolerate personal attacks on attorneys in her courtroom.
The Connecticut judge in Alex Jones' Sandy Hook defamation case reprimanded the conspiracy theorist's lawyer on Thursday as he presented his closing arguments.
Jones is currently on trial for spreading a lie that the 2012 shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, was staged by the government.
Jones has already lost the case by default, and the jury will decide how much he owes the plaintiffs — most of whom are parents whos children were killed in the massacre.
On Thursday, Jones' attorney, Norm Pattis, was called out by Judge Barbara Bellis when he told the jury that one of the plaintiffs' attorneys, Josh Koskoff, would attack him during his rebuttal.
"No lawyer in Connecticut or anywhere can walk into this courtroom and expect anything but scorn. And I will be attacked by Mr. Koskoff in his rebuttal to me. It will be 'Mr. Pattis that,' 'Mr. Pattis this,' all in an effort to gin you up, get you angry," Pattis said.
Soon after, Pattis was interrupted by Judge Bellis, who reprimanded him for singling out Koskoff.
"Please refrain from any further personal attacks or comments about the plaintiffs' lawyers or their law firm. It's highly improper. Let's move on. You talk about the plaintiffs, the plaintiffs' case. I don't want to hear it again," Bellis said.
After Pattis ended his closing arguments a few minutes later, Bellis brought up the moment again as she addressed the jury before they headed for lunch.
She said while she does "not like to interject" herself, she "will not tolerate any personal attacks on lawyers."
"Certainly the evidence can be commented on and arguments can be made but there will no personal attacks on Attorney Koskoff or Attorney Pattis or any lawyer in my courtroom. It's my job to control the proceedings ... and so I will continue to control the proceedings along those lines," Bellis said.
Drama has a way of finding its way into the courtroom anytime Alex Jones goes on trial.
During a similar trial in Texas in August, levied by the parents of Sandy Hook victim Jesse Lewis, one of Jones' attorneys, F. Andino Reynal, was caught on the livestream flipping off Mark Bankston, an attorney for the plaintiffs.
While this played out while the judge was out of the courtroom, she addressed it the next day, saying, "Next time anyone wants to have an argument, you need to take it outside."