Joke

Pranksters answer call to annoy judge
Friday, September 26, 2003
Julie E. Bisbee ASSOCIATED PRESS

U.S. District Judge Lee R. West's phones rang off the hook yesterday, after Jay Leno and other talk-show hosts urged angry citizens to call him.

OKLAHOMA CITY - Now he knows how they feel. U.S. District Judge Lee R. West's telephone has not stopped ringing since he sided with telemarketers seeking to block the national do-not-call list.

Egged on by talk-show hosts and Web sites, people have flooded West's office and home with calls and faxes. "They are just calling to tie up our lines," said Rick Wade, operations manager at the district clerk's office. "They just keep calling to harass us, like the telemarketers harass them, I guess."

The phones at the federal courthouse were jammed yesterday and voice-mail boxes were stuffed with messages berating West's ruling that the Federal Trade Commission lacked authority to create and operate the registry. West's home and office telephone numbers were posted on the Internet, and angry consumers were encouraged to call. Calls to West's home seeking comment were blocked by busy signals.

The ruling even made late-night television talk-show host Jay Leno's monologue Wednesday night. "The judge says the telemarketers can call you whenever they want," Leno said. "You know what we should do? Let's all call this judge tonight at home during dinner."