Kimes v. United States

At 1:30 p.m. on July 18, 1985, according to her own submission, Mrs. Kimes was in Arlington, Virginia rather than in or near the courtroom, as ordered by the judge. Shortly thereafter, she was brushed by a car and hospitalized for several hours. Although the hospital records describe her as shaken but nevertheless “oriented as to month, year, name, and place,” she never called the court or her attorney’s office. That evening, she left the hospital and, instead of reporting to the court, flew to California without notifying any person connected with the trial of her departure. Three days…