Underage Drinker Sent to Jail for Dropping Drawers in Court
Posted in General on January 12, 2015
A minor appeared in court for an Underage Drinking charge and had with his pants hanging a bit low, and the judge repeatedly told him to pull his pants up to his waist. The teenager didn’t dress appropriately for court in the first place as he showed up in sweatpants, and he didn’t help himself by wearing those pants below his waist. But the straw that broke the camel’s back came when he pulled his pants down and completely exposed his underwear to the judge. Not surprisingly, the judge didn’t take kindly to the lack of respect.
Underage Drinker Goes to Jail
Underage Drinking, who didn’t do it? The vast majority of people across the United States consumed some alcohol before they were legally permitted. Some were caught and received criminal charges, many were not. To those that were caught, very few go to jail because the offense is not overly severe. In Pennsylvania, an Underage Drinking charge is a non-traffic summary offense. The maximum sentence permitted by law for a first offense of Underage Drinking is 90 days incarceration, $500.00 fine, and a 90-day license suspension, but very few people go jail for a first offense of Underage Drinking. When it comes to a second or subsequent offense, the maximum fine increases to $1,000.00 and the license suspension also increases, but the maximum term of jail time remains at 90 days. For repeated Underage Drinking charges, the likelihood that the person goes to jail does increase substantially.
In this particular case, the young man probably would not have gone to jail if he had shown some respect to the judge. By pulling down his pants, the man’s actions caused the judge to hold him in contempt of court. Wikipedia defines contempt of court as the offense of being disobedient to or disrespectful of a court of law and its officers in the form of behavior that opposes or defies the authority, justice, and dignity of the court. The young man’s actions got him 10 days in jail. The teen was not sent to jail for the Underage Drinking charge, but he was sent to jail for contempt of court.
Show Respect to the Court
This kid showed a complete lack of respect for the court by blatantly disregarding the judge’s requests, and that resulted in him being found in contempt of court. A person that appears in court should always show respect to the court by dressing appropriately, addressing the judge in a formal manner, and not showing too much emotion upon hearing the judge’s decision. A person that doesn’t show respect to the court and to the criminal system may find themselves in contempt of court and inside a jail cell.