Judge throws a drunk driver's mother in jail for laughing at victim's family in court:

[George II]

This was back in April, but love this judge's reaction!

Link to tweet

[Turin_C3PO]

1. Ha!

Good for that judge!

[Lefta Dissenter]

3. Wow. Good for her!

“...well, your mouth got you 93 days.”

[dalton99a]

4. Amanda Kosal, 25, killed 31-year-old Jerome Zirker and severely injured his fiancee

And her goddamn family was laughing

The judge was too nice:

A video of the proceedings showed a court officer escort Kosal’s mother from the room as the judge announced she would be taken into custody for criminal contempt.

“Your disruptive and disrespectful behavior disrupted today’s proceedings and you, ma’am, are going to the Wayne County Jail for 93 days,” said Lillard, as the woman whispered something back under her breath.

Amanda Kosal was sentenced to 3 to 15 years in prison for the deadly drunk driving crash that killed Zirker, a father of five, reports WDIV. Her mother, Donna, appeared back in court Friday in front of Lillard. She apologized and her sentence was reportedly reduced to one day in jail, time served.

[rusty quoin]

6. 😯

[Laffy Kat]

7. Good. nt

[zaj]

8. What crime? That seems like crazy over reach.

[littlemissmartypants]

9. criminal contempt, nt

[cab67]

10. Judges are known for sanctioning people who disrupt court proceedings

[Pacifist Patriot]

14. Criminal contempt is not an every day occurrence, but it isn't...

an exceedingly rare thing either. Judges can and will cite people for disrupting their courtroom or demonstrating disrespect during proceedings. I saw it happen once out of the two juries I've served on.

[zaj]

15. If laughing is a crime, we have a problem

It wasn't an issue of disruption of the proceedings, it was a disrespectful act toward victims.

This woman should fight this in court, IMO. She may be a hatefilled jerk, but she's a hatefilled jerk with rights.

[LanternWaste]

16. Your concern sounds as specious as...

Your concern sounds as specious as telling someone an earned confidence is "arrogance which doesn't serve you well."

No one is arguing she does not have rights; you merely lack relevant knowledge of what contempt entails.

[Pacifist Patriot]

19. Hate-filled jerks do not have the right to...

treat the judicial process with disdain and contempt. She can laugh all she wants outside the courtroom. You don't seem to appreciate what constitutes contempt and is citable. Clearly the judge does. Only way she could successfully "fight it" would be to apologize to the court. The judge is responsible for pretty much every aspect of their courtroom.

I saw someone cited for coughing. Sounds innocuous enough, doesn't it? However, the individual was obviously feigning it and timing the coughs to express an opinion about one of the witnesses and rattle him during his testimony. Would you say if coughing is a crime, we have a problem?

[mjvpi]

11. Let's hope that this judge could somehow handle the House's contempt citations

[2naSalit]

12. Right On! ...nt

[Judi Lynn]

17. Good to see the bullies did not get the last word in that court room. n/t

[Vinca]

18. Whoa! I think I'm going to stand and applaud right here!