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What began as a young South Florida woman’s defiant profanity and waving of the middle finger to a judge earlier this week turned into an etiquette lesson Friday — when the tearful woman publicly apologized for her behavior.
Penelope Soto’s flipping the bird at Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat on Monday had landed her a 30-day jail sentence for contempt of court, and it drew national headlines as a video of it went viral online.
But Friday, 18-year-old Soto was solemn as she acknowledged to Rodriguez-Chomat that she was wrong for insulting him. Her lawyer and relatives stood next to her as she apologized.
"My behavior was very irrational, and I apologize not only to the court and you, but to my family,” Penelope Soto told Rodriguez-Chomat.
Responding to her apology, Rodriguez-Chomat dropped the 30-day contempt sentence he had imposed on her when she first appeared before him on a Xanax possession charge.
Among the reasons he cited for dropping her contempt sentence were her being a first-time offender, her admission that she had abused Xanax, her willingness to overcome her addiction by attending a drug-treatment program and her apology.
Rodriguez-Chomat said Soto wasn’t entirely to blame for her behavior.
“I should not even call you as totally responsible. We live in a society where if you listen to music, every other word is a profanity,” Rodriguez-Chomat said. “We live in a society where young people like you feel like it’s perfectly OK to call all kinds of names to their teachers and their professors and their friends. And they think that’s OK.”
Rodriguez-Chomat continued: “We live in a society where police officers are abused on a daily basis, mostly by young people who believe it’s OK to call policemen all kinds of names. That’s totally unacceptable.”
Rodriguez-Chomat also did away with the $10,000 bond he had set, enabling Soto to be released from jail straight from the courtroom.
Soto’s lawyer also publicly apologized on her client’s behalf and said Soto was impaired by her ingestion of drugs and alcohol before she acted out in court Monday.
“That impairment, even though I don’t condone her actions, led her to the conduct that was contemptuous before you,” Soto’s lawyer said.
Soto’s legal case began Sunday, when authorities arrested her after she allegedly told them she was “on Xanax bars” and three green baggies filled with Xanax were found in her purse, an arrest affidavit said.
At Monday’s hearing, Soto smiled and stroked her hair, and laughed when Rodriguez-Chomat asked her about her jewelry and other assets for the purposes of setting her bond amount.
"It's not a joke, you know. We're not in a club now," Rodriguez-Chomat told her at the time. "We are not in a club. Be serious about it."
"I'm serious about it. You just made me laugh," Soto replied. "You just made me laugh. I apologize. It's worth a lot of money."
Rodriguez-Chomat had initially set her bond at $5,000 and said "bye-bye," and Soto laughed and replied "Adios." Rodriguez-Chomat summoned her back and raised her bond to $10,000, shocking Soto.
"Are you serious?" she asked.
"I am serious. Adios."
Soto started to walk away when she flipped Rodriguez-Chomat the middle finger and blurted "[expletive] you."
She was called back again, and Rodriguez-Chomat handed down the 30-day contempt sentence.
At Friday's hearing, Soto paused as she apologized because she began to tear up.
“Don’t cry,” the judge told her.
With tears, Soto smiled briefly at the judge.
“Oh, I made you laugh, but it’s all right,” he said. He asked her to keep going with her apology. “Go ahead, tell me,” he said.
She said, “I normally don’t act like that,” then she sighed.
The judge asked whether she took any Xanax the day she was arrested. She said, “Yes, I did. Two.”
The judge told Soto he hoped she had learned several lessons since Monday.
“Lesson No. 1 is that drugs can put you in a very difficult situation,” he said. “It is because of your use of Xanax -- which I understand is a party drug -- can put you, convert you, make you a felon, a convicted felon.”
He continued: “It can put you in a county jail like you have been.”
As Friday’s hearing concluded, the judge wished Soto well.
“Good luck to you, Miss Soto,” he said. “I really do hope that you learned your lesson.”
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I'm sorry but I would have let the contempt charge and 30 days in jail stand. Here we go again blaming drugs and alcohol. Maybe they did affect her judgement. So what? The only lesson learned by this young women is that if I cry in front of the judge he will take pity on me and let me go. Bull Crap. The lesson should be no matter what substance you are on, if you behave badly you should pay the consequences.
Most judges are such @!$%#s that I would guess he had it coming. In California, in addition to the tax crazy bastard democrats, we have the 9th district court of appeals composed of the most senile, Alzheimer's riddled, retards in the world. I flip them off daily. They are pure scum.
You do realize that the composition of the 9th circuit has nothing to do with California, right? I mean, CA is in the 9th circuit, but that hasn't a damn thing to do with who is on the bench.
scotusblog.com may help you.
UCS= You do, of course, realize that the 9th is the most Liberal of fed courts located in one of the most Liberal dependent States and bet me that Liberal judges don't get appointed to that bench.
This is a common misunderstanding that would be rectified by you reading scotus blog. They are not the most liberal (I would give that to the 1st circuit myself). Rather, they are responsible for the largest land area and the greatest number of people AND have the greatest number of judges on the bench representing the greatest diversity of judicial thought of all the circuits. Because their decisions affect so many people and because of the split in thought on the circuit the SCOTUS often accepts cases from the 9th for review, hence making it appear as if they are more active/slanted when in fact they are not.
Its reason like this that people don't respect the law,, and why should they,,.? They can flip the bird and then say they are sorry and then be free from jail so they can go to a drug party. I look at this and think,,
Trust me, if you did this in china or mexico they would not have been so weak,, and that is what are system is,, Weak!
She will be back in front of judge again soon.
and here again is what is wrong with our justice system. Every spoiled brat, every public figure, every celebrity is allowed to do and say whatever they wish, because all they have to do is make a "public" apology and all is swept under a rug, and a day after they get "released" from any responsibility for their actions.... they repeat and usually the very next day. So, WHAT do they learn?
Absolutely! Just say you're sorry and everything will be OK. The trouble with society is there are no consequences for any negative action, just say you're sorry and if anyone thinks that's not enough they are racists or bigots or insensitive. Slap the crap out of them and they won't do it next time.
This little brat along with MOST of the THUGLETS her age today should have been taken to the wood shed years ago. They should all have their butts beat daily to show them you can and WILL!!!!
NONE of them have any respect for anyone or anything. They all are entitled to whatever they want and you better not tell them no....they are even capable of killing their own parents if they don't get their way.
Look no farther than this snot nosed example. She should still be in jail. SOMETHING needs to get her attention.
PARENTS....STOP BEING FRIENDS WITH YOUR KIDS. YOU ARE RAISING CREATURES LOWER THAN ANIMALS!
GOVERNMENT....STAY THE HE** OUT OF OUR LIVES AND ALLOW US TO DISCIPLINE OUR CHILDREN!!!!
I think the judge has been worked by this skank and her attorney. She is probably out and laughing at him while she ingests more drugs. She didn't learn anything except how to work the system with a few tears. She should still have been fined. That's all families of bad kids understand- the almighty dollars.
Probably..... I think she has a good chance of being a repeat offender. However, we cannot punish for future crimes. if she has learned a lesson she will not be back. If she hasnt... she will be dealt with accordingly. Either way works for me. Inmates are my job security. ;)
I am so glad you saw Minority Report, too. Sometimes I worry not enough people have seen it.
Take the finger, problem solved.
Well spoken Ackmed, and what else does the Taliban suggest? Maybe some gang rape? Killing the parents because of their part in giving birth to her? Crawl back in your cave and die ya filthy dog.
Nancy, I knew it would only be a short time before your foul mouth would open again. I bet you use your finger constantly don't you? Angry?
Like Arnold, "She'll be back..."
In a few months we'll be reading an Internet article or seeing a TV segment about how she's been arrested with a couple of politicians in a hotel room. Or probably with the judge. No worries.
This judge did the right thing at first,trying to keep respect in his court.Then he let his bleeding heart liberal side show by going against his own judgement,and completely loses all credibility and respect.She cares none for any system,just a spiled brat who got her way.Wonder what it Really took to get that judge in her pocket?...
She'll do somthing stupid again and I hope they toss her smart ass into a realy prison then she will she who tough she is.
This sets the wrong tone of justice. Do something wrong and just Apologise and that makes what you did wrong okay and you are forgiven. The people wonder why our society is declining into Socialism
I totally agree with your assertion that apologies lead to socialism because you bolded your message.
Rodriguez-Chomat continued: “We live in a society where police officers are abused on a daily basis, mostly by young people who believe it’s OK to call policemen all kinds of names. That’s totally unacceptable.”
I suppose this man is more than 90 years old or so.......it's been many decades since cops in this country have taken more abuse from the public than they have handed out in the form of "mistaken identity" executions. Just look at the headlines on MSNBC today. They have a lot of work to do to repair their image, and I don't see them lifting a finger right now.
This little punk laughed and acted retarded the entire time, she had no respect for the judge or the courts. She deserved 30 days for saying FU and giving him the finger.
She probably did deserve 30 days. But I bet you can't tell me why. I bet you can't tell me why you can tell the president of the US to eff off, but not in this case. And you want to be an American I suppose.
Yes I can tell you why, because she gave the judge the finger and said FU to him. I never told the POTUS to eff off. and I am an American. Any more wild rants?
It's actually a separation of powers issues. The 1st amendment protects you when you tell the president to eff off, but in this case the court reserves the right to maintain order and the appearance of being free from corruption (and not just the freedom from corruption, but the appearance of it also). This will overrule the first amendment.
Welcome to America, please learn about your government.
Even the first Amendment has limitations, as the old example of yelling fire in a crowd theater. I'll end by saying I believe the girl was disrespectful and deserved the 30 days, no more than that. Have a great weekend.
Judges are not exemplary members of society. They are just as capable of being fools, but your country puts them on a throne. Perhaps, that judge deserved more than just a finger. You are becoming slaves to your government if you think you're supposed to bow down and pay homage to every judge you see. They are glorified lawyers who have circumvented a broken judicial system. Justice and liberty for all who can afford it! The land of democracy has become the land of hypocrisy.
You must prefer chaos to having any form of authority. Libertarian?
Well, it was her first offence. Even if she was punking the judge everyone deserves the benefit of the doubt ONCE. If she continues the lifestyle she'll be back in court soon enough.
Respect for elders and tradition is important to the stability and progress of a culture. That's one reason why the Asian cultures -- especially the Chinese -- will eventually eat our lunch.
Exactly. But her defenders would rather have a society in which nobody has any respect for anyone or anything else.
Personally, I'd rather have a society where respect is determined by your achievements. For example, my grandparents generation built rockets, invented the internet, harnessed nuclear power, and made the airplane widespread all while fighting a world war. I respect the hell out of them. Now my parents generation.......uh....hmm......what did they invent......or do......or contribute......when there were more of them and hence you would expect they could accomplish more.......
I'm decent with American history. Some generations just do more than others.
UCS- I assume your comment refers to respect for a generation rather than the individual. Individual accomplishments either individually or en mass don't necessarily bring respect. Spit.
Has anyone seen the movie "The Watch"? It stars Jonah Hill and Vince Vaughn. Anyway, my wife and I barely suffered through it the other day, and watched in amazement at the back and forth between Vaughn's 'daughter' and he, during one scene. They cussed each other like no tomorrow! WOW!!
I couldn't even talk back to my parents. Cuss words? 'Get out of my room'?? 'You're such a.......'???
I'd be either homeless or in the county morgue! I can't believe it's normal for kids to act like that nowadays. This girl obviously didn't know any better and that is the fault of her mother and father. How disrespectful.
Go to youtube and watch the video of this girl at her sentencing. She is laughing and giggling as if she is high on drugs. She didn't take any of that seriously. If I were standing in front of a judge who was about to make a decision that would drastically affect my life, I would not be acting like she was. He gives her a $5K fine, she is dimissed and says "adios" to the jugde. He calls her back, raises her fine, and that is when she walks off and gives him the finger and says FU. The 30 days was justified, but I doubt she learned any lesson.
I agree with the judge. She needs to learn some respect and consideration. She should be grateful he gave her another chance and count her blessings. Hopefully she will learn from it, change her path and be a lesson to others. Too many young people today never had or have lost their moral direction.
She probaby had no guidance while growing up, and I also hope she has learned from this.
kids have zero respect anymore. once again they get away with it. i think he should have gave her 6 months. that would certainly fix her for good
The punishment must fit the crime. The judge is wise — that is why he's a judge and you're not.
Hopefully, the young lady learned there are reasonable limits to the First Amendment right of free speech.
Perhaps our Congress will agree there are similarly reasonable limits to the Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms.
oh please.... Thats crazy talk. There are lots of restrictions on that already. lets try making them consistant accross the country first. living in PA but near NY makes it very clear that we need to standardize our regulations. There are draconian laws in NY while the largest border it shares is with a state that is moderate as compared to the other states of the union. One database, one law, license/permit, one standard. I will get behind that. Anything else is a waste of time, money, and breath.
The appellate court cited The Clouds, a Greek play by Aristophanes from 420 BC, as evidence the middle finger has been understood exactly the same way throughout history. One of the play's characters flipped off Socrates (not Aristotle, as Judge Newman wrote).
"This ancient gesture of insult is not the basis for a reasonable suspicion of a traffic violation or impending criminal activity," Judge Newman wrote. "Surely no passenger planning some wrongful conduct toward another occupant of an automobile would call attention to himself by giving the finger to a police officer."
A 3 judge panel has upheld the middle finger as a protected freedom under the first amendment.
These supposed authority figures are just ordinary men who did not apply themselves in school and ended up with nowhere to go but joining the police force.
And judges, what are they but dirty lawyers who have enough dirt on their constituents to get elected or appointed.
You people who blindly defend this justice system that locks up disproportionate numbers of minorities for nonviolent crimes to feed profits to privatized prison systems should get a life. It appears that J Mark Lane is the only one among you that has any testicles.
Read about the fast track to prison for young black children in Mississippi. Anywhere there is a privatized prison there is a rich judge taking bribes on the side to keep the cells full of young blacks.
The justice system is a disgrace. No I have never been convicted of a crime. No I am not a minority. I am a free man with no master and will not bow 2 tyranny.
Oh come on..... How many of us really want to be judged on what we did on any given day between the ages of 15 and 25. I know I said and did some Pretty..... Pretty..... ignorant stuff then a lot of witch I cringe at or have conveniently suppressed. All of us have a day or in this case a 12 hour period we would like to forget. The girl who was humiliated, the stranger who was disrespected, the friend who was hurt. I have a wonderful wife and two excellent kids who make me look like a saint by association. If the coworkers and friends I have now looked at an hour of candid video from the worst behavior of my 20's I would crawl into a hole and die.... from the rocks they would be justly flinging at me. Really they are all such good people I would feel worse knowing that they forgive me but know my most shameful actions. So lets cross our fingers and hope for the best rather than anticipate the worst. Common people.... Be positive.
Learning self control. Xanax girl just might be able to turn things around. Her fearlessness could take her places if she can develop good judgment and self-control. Lose the pill habit.