Judge throws teen in jail for 30 days for giving him the finger.

[Bertuzzi Babe]

Selective reading and misapprehension seems rampant in this thread, eh?

You would think it was about gun control.

[Dral]

If you think 30 days in jail is an acceptable punishment for a kid (just because shes 18, doesn't mean she's all grown up) being disrespectful then you should pass whatever it is you're smoking.

There are MANY different, more productive ways this point could have been, like as some have said, community service.

Oh wait, my mistake, I didn't realize several people here have forgotten what it's like being a kid themselves.

Carry on.

[Bertuzzi Babe]

If you think 30 days in jail is an acceptable punishment for a kid (just because shes 18, doesn't mean she's all grown up) being disrespectful then you should pass whatever it is you're smoking.

There are MANY different, more productive ways this point could have been, like as some have said, community service.

Oh wait, my mistake, I didn't realize several people here have forgotten what it's like being a kid themselves.

Carry on.

[Dral]

I can tell you flat out that I would never have been in court in the first place let alone behaving as this one was. At 18 you can be damned sure I knew what sorts of behavior were acceptable in court (and anywhere) and what wasn't. I haven't forgotten what it was like to be a kid, my parents just raised me to be a polite and law abiding citizen. It would never have even crossed my mind to behave as this self-entitled obnoxious brat did.

I can't believe that some of you are actually making excuses for this brat. Or excusing her behavior. It's no wonder there are issues with some teenagers today.

[pimpcurtly]

Niiice!!

[Primal Optimist]

it has been my experience that there are a lot of dumb/ignorant people roaming around.

[Primal Optimist]

Lucky you - you actually had good parents who raised you right.

Unlucky you - they forgot to teach you that not everyone has that privilege.

And I wasn't excusing her behavior, I was saying the punishment does not fit the crime (EDIT: INSERT READING COMPREHENSION REMARK HERE). Perhaps you were a goody two shoes your entire life, but most of us weren't. Most of us have had rough patches growing up (adolescence anyone?). It really helps in learning how to be respectful when you have positive role models - when you don't have good role models, things like this happen.

This judge is trying to cure the symptom, not the disease.

[Bertuzzi Babe]

Lucky you - you actually had good parents who raised you right.

Unlucky you - they forgot to teach you that not everyone has that privilege.

And I wasn't excusing her behavior, I was saying the punishment does not fit the crime (EDIT: INSERT READING COMPREHENSION REMARK HERE). Perhaps you were a goody two shoes your entire life, but most of us weren't. Most of us have had rough patches growing up (adolescence anyone?). It really helps in learning how to be respectful when you have positive role models - when you don't have good role models, things like this happen.

This judge is trying to cure the symptom, not the disease.

[Dral]

You may be overlooking that she is clearly a criminal, thus in the court system trying to get a bail amount set.

[Dral]

Well, the judge has taken the first step toward teaching her something then, hasn't he? Now there is a positive role model for her. I suppose it's never too late to be taught something, right? He has made it abundantly clear to her that this sort of behavior is unacceptable in court and that one will be made responsible for their actions if she hasn't quite figured that out yet.

And my 'you' was a general 'you' and I said 'some of'...it is not my fault that you grouped yourself in amongst the rest. Reading comprehension?

[nuckin_futz]

The original article I posted was short on details. Figured I'd toss in a few updates.

*************************************************************************

MIAMI - A woman flipped off a Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge and got 30 days in jail in return.

Penelope Soto, 18, was arrested for illegal possession of Xanax.

Miami-Dade Police responded to Southwest 96th Street and 142nd Avenue after a call of a woman injured Sunday evening.

According to the arrest affidavit, Soto told police she had crashed her bike and was high on Xanax bars. She also said she had more Xanax in her purse.

Police said they found 26 Xanax bars in Soto's purse. She was then arrested.

When Soto faced Miami-Dade County Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat on Monday morning, she got in even more trouble.

After dismissing her, Rodriguez-Chomat called Soto back to tell her he was issuing her a $10,000 bond. She walked away, muttered "F*** you," and flipped him off, video showed.

Rodriguez-Chomat responded by holding her in contempt of court and sentenced her to 30 days in jail.

Soto also referenced Rick Ross when discussing the value of her jewelry with the judge.

Soto is being held at the Turner Guilford Knight Correctional Center (TGK).

****************************************************

If she was just being charged with possession she should consider herself lucky. How about being under the influence in public. Perhaps even destruction of whatever she crashed her bicycle into if anything?

With a prescription you'd usually get about 100 Xanax at time. So what is someone doing with 26 bars (blister packs) which usually contain 10/12 pills per bar. That's a total of approx 260+ pills.

Sounds to me like the Judge who is of Hispanic descent took offence to the flippant use of 'adios' regardless of the fact that Miss Soto is of Hispanic descent as well. He seemed to be putting up with her nonsense until that comment which seems to have drawn his ire.

In addition to that I suspect he was annoyed with her and he suspected she showed up in his court high as a kite. I too suspect she was high during her appearance. She was either incredibly nervous or she was high. I don't think she was nervous.

* Rick Ross whom Soto referenced is a flashy rapper who was the target of multiple gun shots on Monday in Fort Lauderdale, FL.

There is a link below to a better version of the court room video. It is of better quality and has an additional 1:35 or so which was cut off the end of the one I posted in the OP. It contains her response to the 30 day sentence which was "OK, that's fine"

http://www.local10.c...6z/-/index.html

[Magikal]

Punishment doesn't fit the crime at all. Seems like an abuse of power to me.

[Wetcoaster]

Punishment doesn't fit the crime at all. Seems like an abuse of power to me.

[pimpcurtly]

This is not a crime per se. It is under a judge's inherent jurisdiction to control his/her court and summarily deal with contempt in the face of the court (In Facie Contempt) - which these actions clearly appear to be. And judges have possessed this power for centuries in the Anglo-American legal system.

[Dral]

This is not a crime per se. It is under a judge's inherent jurisdiction to control his/her court and summarily deal with contempt in the face of the court (In Facie Contempt) - which these actions clearly appear to be. And judges have possessed this power for centuries in the Anglo-American legal system.

[Rypien37]

Just fyi, it is clearly stated in the video, the girl had no priors.

Extremely dumb move on her part, but it seemed like both sides acted immaturely on this one.

[Kass9]

Both immature, one idiot, and one abusing power... nothing new.

[Wetcoaster]

You know "The punishment doesn't fit the crime" is a saying that is applied often to things that aren't actually crimes, right?

And you know just because someone has power doesn't necessarily justify them using it, right?

And you know that an appeal to tradition is a fallacy, right?

And you know these are mostly rhetorical questions, right?

[Rypien37]

If you guys think the girl was bad, check this out:

[Kryten]

The punishment isn't excessive, it's a waste. Something is clearly wrong with a society that seeks imprisonment as punishment instead of ordering the accused into a useful venture while providing counselling or psychiatric care (especially for young adults involved in non-violent crimes). Yes the judge has the power to do what he wants in his courtroom but it hardly means that he has the ability to be uniformally objective when exercising his power, he is human after all.

I have to add that noone deserves respect simply because of a title or a uniform (a concept lost on those living in a fascistic society). History has shown that power more often than not, corrupts. Many people learned painful lessons as to why respect is earned no matter which institution demands it.