Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Disorder in the court

I'm a believer in the idea that you should be respectful while you're in court, but this is ridiculous:
Drowsy spectators in one suburban Chicago courtroom might want to stifle their yawns from now on. Clifton Williams, 33, of Richton Park, is facing six months in jail for making what court documents call a yawn-like sound in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court last month. The yawn happened as Williams' cousin, Jason Mayfield, was being sentenced for a drug charge on July 23.

Rozak found Williams in contempt of court and sentenced him to six months in jail. However, Rozak could free Williams after a status hearing Thursday, if Williams apologizes and the judge accepts. By then, Williams will have served 21 days.
Now, people on both sides disagree about whether or not the sound he made was disruptive, but you'd think the judge would issue a warning before sending the dude off to jail for three weeks or more.

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