A Michigan Judge ordered that the mother of a drunk driver be jailed after she wouldn’t stop smirking and laughing at the families of the DUI victims during her daughter’s sentencing this past Friday.
Wayne Circuit County Court Judge Qiana Lillard threw the book at Donna Kosal, and ordered her to serve 93 days in Wayne County Jail for her inappropriate behavior.
Amanda Kosal, 25, admitted she was drunk when she drove head-on into an SUV, killing 31-year-old Jerome Zirker. His fiancée, 31-year-old Brittany Johnson, who’s a mother of five children, was also severely injured in the collision that happened this past summer in Redford Township. Kosal was sentenced to 3 to 15 years in prison and cried as the victims’ families read their impact statements.
WDIV in Michigan reports that mom Donna Kosal and a family friend were laughing and smiling during the proceedings—and that the judge took serious offense. Judge Lillard’s response was captured on video and shared on social media by the local news station.
“It’s time for him to go,” said Judge Lillard to the couple. “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. And you can go, too. Because if you don’t know how to act, you can go to jail. So leave.”
“Anybody that can sit there and laugh and smirk — take her, she’s going in the back — anybody else wanna go? You can go, too,” continued the judge. “This is a court of law. And these are very serious matters. 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. 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,” the judge declared.
As soon as Donna Kosal left the courtroom, she was ordered into custody and charged with criminal contempt and told she was going to jail for 93 days over her behavior. Kosal has since apologized for her disruptive behavior and had her sentence reportedly reduced to a single day, with time already served.
Lillard thanked the millions of people who watched the now-viral Facebook video for leaving messages of support.
“Thank you to everyone who has taken the time to visit this page to express your feelings. I am honored to have the privilege of serving the citizens of Wayne County,” she wrote. “Although I am unable to respond individually to everyone, I have read all of your remarks. I appreciate all of your comments.”