Clifton Williams, Illinois Man, Jailed For Yawning Freed After 3 Weeks

JOLIET, Ill. — An Illinois judge has freed a man who had been in jail for three weeks after letting loose a loud yawn during a sentencing hearing. Thirty-three-year-old Clifton Williams of Richton Park was found in contempt of court and jailed on July 23 after yawning in Will County Judge Daniel Rozak's court. He could have been jailed for six months.

Williams was in court for his cousin's sentencing on a drug charge. A prosecutor in court at the time described the offending yawn as "loud and boisterous."

As Williams stood before the bench in shackles on Thursday, the judge gave him a short lecture. He told Williams he wasn't in custody for simply yawning but for making a sound "that was offensive to the court."

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Information from: Chicago Tribune, http://www.chicagotribune.com

Comments

[Bude]

The rumor is, it was a f@rt not a yawn.

[Firbolg]

YWB

[mad1nola]

Wow! This judge needs to be relieved of his duties NOW!

[Bude]

Will County Illinois is like another country.

[hannibalBarca]

Gee-Wiz!
Another man of color rights violated over nonsense.
Maybe it's me? What I don't get is, some people act like the mis-treatment of minorities by society is a new thing . People wake up! It's the same old thing, just a different day is all.

[Whinger]

Jeez! It's lucky he didn't sneeze or break wind or worse!

Judges never yawn or engage in any involuntary bodily functions, they're perfect people!

[kinnycut]

This Judge needs to find another occupation because there are enough anal retentive twits on the bench already.

[nocoward]

What would the Learned Judge have done if the noise was caused by bowel gas?

[marcain]

A lot of judges egos are sensitive. This judge is just an a-hole.

[stevezep]

Tax dollars at work, HOORAY!!! Awesome story, makes us hard working Americans feel worthy about that FICA tax.

[Jerry Pecks]

3 weeks for being a smart @$$? Sounds like this guy AND the judge have some growing up to do.

[PoliSci2008]

These twisted judges forget that they are "civil servants", and the court is the People's Court. Instead of fining him, placing him on civic service or jailing him for a day, something to enrich the People's Court or the county, the not-so-bright Judge puts him in jail for 3 weeks, costing the People tens-of-thousands of dollars to house, feed, bath, cloth, medicate, etc this guy! How frkg dumb can this judge get?

[emstrem]

Another case of these sorry ass judges having too much power when they are having a bad day, give me a break...but on a bright note...

In my township, the local city where my cousin (one town over, same court district) lives in is always crying because the city is broke, and yet just this past Wednesday my cousin went to get sentenced for his 2nd DUI in as many years, (he also had 2 more in California when he was serving in the USMC 8 years ago), and the local judge dismissed his case because the cop did not show up to a slam dunk case. She said that out of her 12-14 municipalities that she covers, the city that my cousin that my cousin lives in is the only one that cannot get their act together, and yet they are always crying for money. The prosecuting attorney was livid, having drove all the way down from Detroit, only to have the case dismissed, 90% bail reimbursed, license reinstated, and 2 felony charges dropped.

Score one for the good guys :) MADD isn't getting any more money :)

[Usama]

Civil servants are known to develop a callousness towards people who they determine to be uncultured, illmannered, ignorant, selfish, stubborn. It doesn't matter what race, gender, ethnicity of the civil servant, this develops. And sadly, racial stereotypes emerge which cater to that person's observations. Hence, Mark Fuhrman's racial remarks and concerns which resulted in his 'burn out' at policing.
Ironically, the veteran may be the one who develops this callousness whereas the newbie/rookie is the one who still holds ideals. As someone who once worked in EMS, I have seen black and whites in almost every branch of emergency serice- police, fire dept, emergency room, hospitals- succumb to using racial stereotypes when referring to such ignorant, uncultured, selfish people they are forced to serve.
I don't blame these public servants, but its a reality. As for judges, its likely that he has seen 100s of cases and dealt with 1000s of people who fit into this group. Its a fact that the judicial system has treated blacks unjustly and with disporportionate prejudice. The evidence is well-established with death row cases, convictions of innocent people, harsher sentences, and so forth. Its a fairly easy comparison of like cases that reveals this.

[ginxy]

The most expensive yawn in Illinois taxpayer history.

Since the judge is the one who's so offended by bodily noises, send him the bill for jailing this "contemptuous yawner"!

[FdeBear]

I agree.

[chicago12]

Three weeks in jail for yawning is unbelievable. Had this happened in Afghanistan it would have been an example of how uncivilized the Taliban are and decried loudly in the press. Also it is no surprise that the jailed man is a minority and the judge is whte. I have seen plenty of similar examples. Two Latino professors in a Jesuit university in San Francisco were made to wait 3 years and agreed to wait 3 years because their cases were so strong, before allowed to face 2 separate whte arbitrators who promptly and outrageously ruled against them. Also the case of blck doctor Patricia Washington who fell victim to a panel of all whte judges. It happens often, and this is the Unted Stats not Afghanistan.

[RazeTemple]

Good job. I read about this when it happened and I was upset that such extreme punishment was laid on this man for nothing more than a misplaced breath. That judge should really lighten up.

[Melissa]

It was rude and offensive but did not warrant a 3 week jail sentance. He should have been fined and sent to a 3 week daily class on manners. I don't think he even knew how rude he was being.

[MorpheusXNYC]

Even that would violate the spirit of the law and our constitution. Words or vocal express should never be punished.

You can ask someone to leave or remove them if they refuse to, but you can't jail the or force them to take classes to "reeducate" or train them to believe what you believe or act the way you'd like them to.

Even your penalty would violate both the 1st and 8th amendments:

1st amendment: Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

8th amendment: Excessive bail shall not be required, nor excessive fines imposed, nor cruel and unusual punishments inflicted.