Miami Woman Flips Off Judge, Gets Contempt Of Court

By Daniel Arkin, Staff Writer, NBC News

Credit: Miami Dade

Penelope Soto 18, Miami resident

February 4, 2013 Updated Feb 4, 2013 at 3:07 PM PDT

(NBC News)

A Florida woman who gave a judge the middle-finger at a bond hearing on Monday got a judicial thumbs-down in return: 30 days in jail.

Penelope Soto, 18, was sentenced to nearly a month behind bars for contempt of court after she flipped off Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jorge Rodriguez-Chomat.

Soto, who had been arrested for illegal possession of Xanax, was apparently indignant after Rodriguez-Chomat raised her bond from $5,000 to $10,000.

But even before Soto gave Rodriguez-Chomat the one-finger salute, they weren't exactly seeing eye-to-eye. Earlier in the hearing, Soto laughed at the judge after he asked her how much her jewelry was worth.

"It's not a joke," he is seen saying in video recorded in the courtroom (above). "You know, we're not in a club right now. We are not in a club. Be serious about it."

NBC news has more on this story click here.

To submit a comment on this article, your email address is required. We respect your privacy and your email will not be visible to others nor will it be added to any email lists.