by William Skink
I’m confused. I heard on Montana Public Radio that a woman who cursed out a judge would be required to spend 30 days in jail. Multiple news sources reported this. Here is the Missoulian:
A Missoula woman will be behind bars for at least one month after cursing and shouting insults at a judge.
KGVO-AM reports that 30-year-old Tiffany Ortega had appeared in court via video from the Missoula County jail on DUI and careless driving charges.
Judge Karen Orzech had started asking questions when Ortega became verbally abusive toward her.
Orzech had initially given Ortega a two-day jail sentence and set her bail at $5,000, but she added more time after Ortega continued cursing and made an obscene gesture.
The problem? Ortega is not in jail. How do I know this? I spent a few minutes checking out the Missoula County Inmate Information Portal where I learned that despite driving under the influence, careless driving, a felony probation violation and the criminal contempt charge, Ortega was released from jail just hours after flipping out on the judge.
Why was Ortega released after the judge and multiple media sources reported she would spend a month in jail? What does the judge think about this? What kind of message does this send to the woman about consequences if the authority of the judge can be so quickly undermined?
I wonder, is this a result of the overcrowding crisis at the jail? Maybe some reporters can, you know, report on this shit accurately so we can understand why an unstable woman who put other lives at risk by driving under the influence, then displayed contempt for the judge, is out of jail hours after being told she would be in jail for a month.
JC