A furious US judge increased a defendant’s contempt of court sentence seven times as she argued with him during a video arraignment earlier this month. A clip of the extraordinary bust-up has since found its way onto YouTube…
The defendant, Ebony Burks, initially committed contempt of court after refusing to comply with a non-contact order preventing her returning to the home she shares with her grandfather, who she is accused of attacking. That saw Judge Gary Bennett grant Burks a 30 day sentence.
The judge then doubled it to 60 days after Burks held up her hand and walked away from the camera.
Having been ordered back, Burks continued to argue. Her ensuing comments — such as “So what?”, “So?” and “Ok, and?” — proved rather costly, with the judge raising the sentence by 30 days for each. An off camera remark by Burk then sees the sentence upped to 200 days, before it reaches a massive 300 days following a defiant “Fuck you!”.
The judge told the Chronicle-Telegram that it is the longest sentence he has ever imposed for contempt of court.