A Youngstown, Ohio attorney was found in contempt of court and sentenced to five days in jail on July 22 for refusing to remove a Black Lives Matter pin from her lapel, according to WFMJ.
The attorney, Andrea Burton, reportedly plans to appeal Judge Robert Milich's sentence.
"[Milich] indicated to me he didn't know if I was trying to seek attention from the news or whatever the case was, but that legally I wasn't allowed to wear it," Burton told WFMJ. "I deferred and said that I'm respecting my First Amendment right. That I'm not neutral in injustice, and to remain neutral becomes an accomplice to oppression."
WFMJreports:
The Youngstown woman's attorneys asked that the Judge stay her sentence so that she could appeal, and he eventually sent out an order allowing her to be released pending an Appeals Court decision.
Milich, who reportedly gave Burton multiple opportunities to remove the pin, allegedly told reporters that he handed down the sentence because he couldn't allow someone to "demonstrate a viewpoint in a court that is supposed to be fair and impartial." He cited a Supreme Court case that allows judges to prohibit political symbols in the courtroom.
Burton maintains that her First Amendment rights supercede that ruling.
