Story highlights Desiree Fairooz was convicted of unlawful conduct

She says she made a 'reflexive noise' during Sessions' hearing

(CNN) What started as a chuckle during Jeff Sessions' confirmation hearing for attorney general escalated into a court case and a conviction for the woman behind the laugh.

If you weren't listening closely, you'd have missed Desiree Fairooz 's laughter about 35 minutes into the January hearing.

It lasted a few seconds, but Fairooz is paying the price months later. Fairooz was convicted of unlawful conduct this week in the District of Columbia Superior Court in Washington. Here's what happened:

What caused the outburst?

A C-SPAN video of the feed shows the laughter started when fellow Republican Sen. Richard Shelby started discussing Sessions' "extensive record of treating all Americans equally under the law."