The judge had chastised nine students caught drinking at a Troy high school prom last spring. That would be the end of it, he figured.
It was, until Judge Michael Martone stumbled across a Web site weeks after the students had been sentenced to probation. Leering back at him from his computer screen were some of the same students from Troy Athens High School, now in college.
On the site, they were giving him the finger. They were toasting him with cups of beer and chugging shots of Jagermeister liqueur. They were posing with beer cans stacked almost to the ceiling, and retching into toilets at Michigan State University.
A judge's contempt power can be either "ruthless or toothless". Mocking the order and the judge, online no less, that you cannot drink while under probation for a minor in possession charge is a certain way to feel the ruthless side of a judge's contempt power.
One can understand why the Judge ordered these minors to refrain from alcohol use. Nevermind that its against the law for minors to consume alcohol, if they so lack basic judgmental skills when not under the influence that they post pictures of themselves drinking and mocking the court's order, one can only wonder at how dumb they can be under the influence.
Oh, and the penalty for their contempt? The sentences ranged from 10 to 30 days in jail.
No comments:
Post a Comment