Judge Jails Courtroom Observer for Wearing Raunchy T-Shirt
Asked at the last minute to give a friend a ride to a suburban Chicago courthouse on Monday, 19-year-old Jennifer LaPenta got behind the wheel still dressed for the gym in a T-shirt and sweatpants.
Her T-shirt, unfortunately, included a slogan that apparently did not go over well with Associate Lake County Circuit Judge Helen Rozenburg. As reported by the Lake County News-Sun, it stated: “I own the [female body part], so I make the rules.”
After spotting LaPenta among the courtroom spectators, Rozenburg called LaPenta to the bench and asked her if she thought the T-shirt was appropriate, the newspaper reports. In response, LaPenta tells the News-Sun, she told Rozenburg it would have been inappropriate if she had been the defendant.
Held in contempt and handcuffed, LaPenta was immediately incarcerated, without being told why, taken to bond court or given an opportunity to call her mother, she contends. She was released from the Lake County Jail yesterday after an overnight stay.
By today, she had hired a lawyer, Peter Kalagis, who says Rozenburg overreacted by jailing his client rather than asking her to remove the shirt or leave the courtroom. “To me, that was an extreme action,” he says.
The county’s chief judge declined to comment on LaPenta’s case when contacted by the newspaper but noted that determining what constitutes contempt is at the court’s discretion.
A subsequent Chicago Tribune article gives additional details.
Updated on May 6 to link to Tribune coverage.
