A Chicago attorney apologized after she was caught on video using a racial slur and uttering an obscenity during a court hearing.
Donna Makowski made the comments in an unmuted conversation during a Zoom call last week with the court, and she was overheard by a judge and other participants referring to Cook County sheriff's personnel as "those motherf*ckers" and using the N-word, reported the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Your Honor, I apologize," Makowski said at the start of a contempt hearing ordered the next day by judge Dominique Ross. "I have no words for the inexcusable episode that happened yesterday."
The judge ultimately decided not to hold Makowski in contempt of court, saying the professional and personal humiliation she had experienced was punishment enough.
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“The court cannot teach adults not to make ignorant statements, to make racial slurs, whether they are directed at the court or not," Ross said. “There is no punishment that this court can impose upon you that is going to surpass the embarrassment, the humiliation that your colleagues and other judges have heard you make. Your apology is accepted.”
It's not clear why Makowski used the slurs and profanity, but she assured the judge it had not been directed toward her.
“It was outrageous, whether you were directing it to the court or not,” the judge said. “I’m sure that you have clients who are people of color. “
Makowski told the judge her late husband had been Black, but Ross said that didn't matter, and would refer the matter to the state’s Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission for any possible discipline.
“That does not give anybody a pass to make those types of statements,” the judge said. “They’re just not proper.”
