Man suffers seizure in court as federal judge wraps up arguments

U.S. District Court Judge Justin Quackenbush was forced to suspend court on Friday after a man suffered a seizure during the judge’s final statements.

The 63-year-old man, who was sitting in the gallery in federal court, suffered what paramedics described as a grand mal seizure. Spokane attorney Jeffry Finer leaped over a wooden bannister and placed a pen in the man’s mouth to open his airway.

The man, whose face went purple during the several moments he fought for air, finally began breathing unassisted. After several minutes, he was able to speak with paramedics, who arrived and took him by ambulance to Deaconess Medical Center to get checked out by medical personnel.

Court was suspended for about 30 minutes to allow the man to receive medical care and to be transported out of the courtroom.