In a courtroom presided over by a no-nonsense Michigan judge, a disrespectful woman experienced unforeseen consequences when she chose to laugh as the judge was about to sentence someone for a fatal drunk driving incident. The judge made sure to put an end to the woman’s amusement.
25 years old Amanda Kosal caused the death of Jerome Zirker while driving under the influence. As she awaited her sentencing, Judge Qiana Lillard ejected Kosal’s mother, Donna Kosal, and her mother’s boyfriend from the courtroom. The judge referred to them as “clowns” after observing their reactions while the victim’s sister gave a statement. Judge Lillard’s patience wore thin when she saw Donna and her boyfriend smirking.
Judge Lillard stated that Donna and her unidentified boyfriend were behaving disrespectfully in the courtroom.
“It’s time for him to go,” she said. “And I don’t know who he is, but whoever can sit here at a tragic moment like this and laugh and smile when somebody has lost a family member… in the entire time that Mr. Zirker’s sister was speaking that clown, and that’s what I am going to call him, a clown, was sitting there smiling and laughing.”
A bailiff escorted the man out, and the judge’s irritation with Donna increased. “You can go too because if you don’t know how to act, you can go to jail, so leave,” she said. After a brief pause, Judge Lillard brought Donna back in, exchanged a few words, and instructed the bailiffs to take her to jail.
“Take her, she’s going in the back,” the judge told the bailiffs. “Anybody else wanna go? You can go, too.” Donna made an off-camera comment about the judge’s mouth, prompting the judge to respond, “Oh, my mouth? Well, thank you, your mouth got you 93 days.”
To wipe the disrespectful grin off Donna’s face, Judge Lillard sentenced her to 93 days in jail for criminal contempt. The judge made it clear to everyone present why she had Donna removed and emphasized that such behavior would not be tolerated.
“I understand that you all are very upset because your loved one is going to prison, but guess what… she’s going to prison for the choices that she made,” Judge Lillard said. “These people are here grieving, saddened because a senseless act took away their loved one and you’re sitting here acting like it’s a joke? Not in courtroom 502, not today and not any other day.”
Amanda Kosal’s car had crossed the center line and collided head-on with an SUV carrying 31-year-old Jerome Zirker and his 31-year-old fiancée, Brittany Johnson. Zirker had been picking up Johnson from her 12-hour shift at a group home when the accident occurred. Amanda pleaded guilty to causing Zirker’s death and severely injuring Johnson, receiving a sentence of 3 to 15 years in prison.
Now a single mother of five, Johnson typically had all five children accompany their father to pick her up from work.
“Luckily, they were at grandma’s house or it would have been all of us,” Johnson said. “She took everything away from me, and it’s horrible. She took a good man off this earth. He was a good man who took care of his kids on a daily basis.”
Jerome Zirker’s mother, Rathel Fizer, did not want Amanda Kosal to go to jail.
“I want her to stay out and help support my grandchildren because they don’t have a father to take care of them,” Fizer said. “If she goes to prison or jail, I’m taking care of her. I don’t want he to mail a check. I want her to hand-deliver it to them so she can see the faces that she destroyed.”
Many problems in today’s world seem to revolve around a lack of respect for others. Unfortunately, adults not only display this behavior but also pass it on to their children. Thankfully, there are individuals like Judge Qiana Lillard who are willing to step up and be the “tough parent” that these disrespectful people never had.
In this situation, Judge Lillard sent a clear message that disrespectful behavior in the face of others’ grief and suffering is unacceptable. In doing so, she demonstrated the importance of empathy, understanding, and respect in the courtroom and beyond.
The actions of the judge serve as a reminder that we must be mindful of our conduct, especially in sensitive situations such as a courtroom. Our actions and words can have a significant impact on others, and we should strive to treat everyone with the respect and dignity they deserve.
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Sources: Taphaps, Clickondetroit, Fox2detroit