Associated Press

A judge sentenced a 52-year-old West Olive woman to 30 days in jail for yelling an obscenity in his courtroom.

Muskegon County Circuit Judge Timothy Hicks had just finishing sentencing the woman's daughter, 34-year-old Rose Marie Ryer, to 18 months to 20 years in prison on various charges, including being a habitual offender.

After Ryer's sentence was read, her mother, Theodora Wilson, apparently fainted.

Paramedics determined she was not seriously ill, but Wilson initially refused to leave the courtroom. When she eventually got up to leave, she told Hicks she hoped he could sleep at night, The Muskegon Chronicle reported. Hicks told Wilson he hoped she would get better.

It was then that Wilson let loose with the two-word obscenity.

Hicks ordered sheriff's deputies to return Wilson to the courtroom. He found her in contempt of court and sent her to jail.

``I've sentenced a lot of gang members, drug dealers, child molesters,'' Hicks told the Grand Rapids Press.

``I really never thought the first to come up (for contempt) would be a middle-agelady from Ottawa County,'' he said.

Jail overcrowding makes it likely Wilson will be freed well before the 30-day sentence is over, court officials said.

According to the Grand Rapids Press, Wilson could not be reached for comment at the Muskegon County Jail. She has no criminal record in Ottawa County.