TOMMY JOE JUSTICE, APPELLANT,
v.
STATE OF FLORIDA, APPELLEE
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Publishing a letter containing allegations about a judge's private life, without evidence of intent to obstruct justice or challenge judicial authority, does not constitute indirect criminal contempt.
[1] A publication constitutes indirect criminal contempt only if it is directed against the authority and dignity of a court or judge acting judicially, or tends to intimidat…
[2] A publication that may be personally embarrassing to a judge does not, without more, constitute indirect criminal contempt.
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Join FLexlaw to unlock all legal intelligenceAppellant published an advertisement containing a letter addressed to the Chief Judge, referencing alleged extra-judicial activities of another judge.…
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PER CURIAM.
Justice appeals the trial judge’s order finding him guilty of indirect criminal contempt. The State of Florida has not filed an answer brief. We reverse.
In February, 1979, Justice purchased an advertisement in the Banner, a newspaper which circulated in Washington County. The ad consisted of a letter, addressed to the Chief Judge of the Fourteenth Judicial Circuit, containing a reference to alleged extra-judicial activities of another judge within the circuit. While we do not condone scurrilous allegations regarding a judge’s private life, under the facts of this case we must agree with Justice that publishing the letter did not constitute indirect criminal contempt.
A criminal contempt is conduct that is directed against the authority and dignity of a court or of a judge acting judicially. Ex Parte Earman, 85 Fla. 297, 95 So. 755 (1923). A publication may constitute contempt if it tends to intimidate, influence, impede, embarrass, or obstruct courts in the administration of justice in matters pending before them. State ex rel Giblin v. Sullivan, 157 Fla. 496, 26 So. 2d 509 (1946). See also Vines v. Vines, 357 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 2nd DCA 1978). Although the publication in question may have been personally embarrassing to the offended judge, there is no evidence that it was directed against his judicial authority or dignity or that it tended to obstruct the administration of justice.
In an earlier contempt proceeding, stemming from the appellant’s 1977 publication of an identical letter, Justice had been admonished against “further publication of matters which in the court’s eyes tends to influence a case presently under consideration by the court.” However, the record does not indicate that the second publication of the letter tended to influence any case under consideration. Therefore, the February, 1979, publication could not constitute a contemptuous violation of the earlier order. Accordingly, judgment is REVERSED for proceedings not inconsistent with this opinion.
SHIVERS and WENTWORTH, JJ., and WOODIE A. LILES (Ret.), Associate Judge, concur.
Cases With Similar Vibessemantic neighbors from the corpus
Citator
Cited By
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Silas Eubanks v. Honorable J. Royce Agner as Circuit Judge of the Third Judicial Circuit of Florida, 636 So. 2d 596 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994)…rection. If no order has been violated, contempt can only be found if the conduct is calculated to embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the court in the administration of justice or calculated to lessen the court’s authority and dignity. Justice v. State, 400 So. 2d 1037, 1038 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). It must be demonstrated that the contemnor acted with knowledge of what is expected of him. Sandstrom v. State, 309 So. 2d 17 (Fla. 4th DCA 1975), cert. discharged, 336 So. 2d 572 (Fla.1976). Here, petitioner did not viola…
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Sheriff Morris Young v. State, 209 So. 3d 4 (Fla. 1st DCA 2015)…if the conduct is calculated to embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the court in the administration of justice or calculated to lessen the court’s authority and dignity. Eubanks v. Agner, 636 So. 2d 596, 598 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994) (citing Justice v. State, 400 So. 2d 1037, 1038 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981)). The Sheriff asserts that dismissal is required because he cannot be held in indirect criminal contempt of court because the bond orders do not specifically state that furloughs are not allowed. At this early stage of the…
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Rivernider v. Sterling Villages of Palm Beach Lakes Condo Assoc 2013 (15th Cir. Ct. App. Div. 2013)…found if the conduct is calculated to embarrass, hinder, or obstruct the court in the administration of justice or calculated to lessen the court's authority and dignity. Eubanks v. Agner, 636 So. 2d 596 (Fla. 1st DCA 1994), citing Justice v. State, 400 So. 2d 1037 (Fla. 1st DCA 1981). Furthermore, it must be demonstrated that the contemnor acted with knowledge of what is expected of her. Id. As previously noted, the affidavit fails to state that Rivernider "acted," in a manner sufficient to allege criminal c…
Authorities Cited
- Ex parte Earman, 85 Fla. 297 (Fla. 1923)
- State v. Sullivan, 157 Fla. 496 (Fla. 1946)
- Vines v. Doyle Eugene Vines, 357 So. 2d 243 (Fla. 2d DCA 1978)
- Crown v. Coleman, 157 Fla. 463 (Fla. 1946)
- Chapman v. State, 157 Fla. 464 (Fla. 1946)