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And you thought I ♥ Bobbies was bad ...
An Illinois woman was cited for contempt of court and sentenced to two days in jail for wearing an inappropriate T-shirt (with the above logo) in the Lake County Courthouse.
Associate Judge Helen Rozenburg charged 19-year old Jennifer LaPenta with contempt of court for wearing the t-shirt in her courtroom. LaPenta was sitting in the gallery waiting for a friend's case to be called when the judge called her forward.
Rozenburg asked LaPenta if she thought her shirt was appropriate.
LaPenta said she told the judge that it would have been inappropriate had she been the defendant.
I guess the judge didn't like that answer - she immediately ordered LaPenta to 48 hours in jail (LaPenta was released after 24 hours), stating:
LaPenta's response? "They should be out looking for people who are breaking the law, not arresting someone wearing a T-shirt. They just threw me in jail. They never told me what I was going to jail for."
Ummm ... really? My guess is LaPenta was told she was being held for Contempt of Court. Just because she didn't know what that meant (which is a problem in and of itself) doesn't mean she wasn't told why she was being held.
LaPenta complained, "All the officers thought it was hilarious -- it was humiliating."
Did she not consider the fact that wearing that t-shirt into court was "humiliating" to the judicial system?
Better yet? According to LaPenta, she bought the t-shirt in the gay section of Spencer's. She said she is openly homosexual and complained that the judge was a "homophobe" for putting her in custody for wearing the t-shirt.
I'm guessing that statement will come back and bite her in the butt when her civil suit against the judge goes to court.
Yes, she has retained an attorney to file a civil suit against the judge. Personally, I can't imagine the civil suit will get LaPenta anything other than her 15 minutes of fame ... or at least I hope it doesn't.
What do you think? Did the judge over-react? Should LaPenta have been given the opportunity to leave the courtroom?
An Illinois woman was cited for contempt of court and sentenced to two days in jail for wearing an inappropriate T-shirt (with the above logo) in the Lake County Courthouse.
Associate Judge Helen Rozenburg charged 19-year old Jennifer LaPenta with contempt of court for wearing the t-shirt in her courtroom. LaPenta was sitting in the gallery waiting for a friend's case to be called when the judge called her forward.
Rozenburg asked LaPenta if she thought her shirt was appropriate.
LaPenta said she told the judge that it would have been inappropriate had she been the defendant.
I guess the judge didn't like that answer - she immediately ordered LaPenta to 48 hours in jail (LaPenta was released after 24 hours), stating:
LaPenta was in "direct criminal contempt" for "displaying herself in the front row wearing a shirt displaying obscene wording, and having been questioned regarding her apparel offering no excuse as to her displaying its content in open court."
LaPenta's response? "They should be out looking for people who are breaking the law, not arresting someone wearing a T-shirt. They just threw me in jail. They never told me what I was going to jail for."
Ummm ... really? My guess is LaPenta was told she was being held for Contempt of Court. Just because she didn't know what that meant (which is a problem in and of itself) doesn't mean she wasn't told why she was being held.
LaPenta complained, "All the officers thought it was hilarious -- it was humiliating."
Did she not consider the fact that wearing that t-shirt into court was "humiliating" to the judicial system?
Better yet? According to LaPenta, she bought the t-shirt in the gay section of Spencer's. She said she is openly homosexual and complained that the judge was a "homophobe" for putting her in custody for wearing the t-shirt.
I'm guessing that statement will come back and bite her in the butt when her civil suit against the judge goes to court.
Yes, she has retained an attorney to file a civil suit against the judge. Personally, I can't imagine the civil suit will get LaPenta anything other than her 15 minutes of fame ... or at least I hope it doesn't.
What do you think? Did the judge over-react? Should LaPenta have been given the opportunity to leave the courtroom?
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