The judge had chastised nine students caught drinking at a Troy high school prom last spring. That would be the end of it, he figured.
It was, until Judge Michael Martone stumbled across a Web site weeks after the students had been sentenced to probation. Leering back at him from his computer screen were some of the same students from Troy Athens High School, now in college.
On the site, they were giving him the finger. They were toasting him with cups of beer and chugging shots of Jagermeister liqueur. They were posing with beer cans stacked almost to the ceiling, and retching into toilets at Michigan State University.
The Web site's headline said: "F U Martone. ... Night after court/ Hahaaa." The girls -- two of whom were honor students -- were from a top high school known for its drinking-prevention programs and where Martone had addressed the student body just days before the prom.
The Web site, shown to police and probation officers, immediately became legal evidence for charging the three young women with contempt of court "for disobeying my direct order not to consume alcohol," Martone said. The students were brought before Martone again. He lugged the evidence into court, inside his laptop.
He sentenced the Web-site creator to 30 days in the Oakland County Jail. She was marched off in handcuffs, to spend Christmas and New Year's Day behind bars. The second girl was sentenced to 15 days. The two become cellmates. Last week, the last of the friends, appeared before Martone to face a new sentence.
Detroit Free Press
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