Dowdy v. Palmour

• Decision Date: 16 June 1983
• Docket Number: No. 39560,39560
• Citation: 304 S.E.2d 52,251 Ga. 135
• Parties: DOWDY et al. v. PALMOUR.
• Court: Georgia Supreme Court

Page 52

304 S.E.2d 52

251 Ga. 135

DOWDY et al. v. PALMOUR.

No. 39560.

Supreme Court of Georgia.

June 16, 1983.

Andrew Dowdy, pro se.

Douglas W. McDonald, Cornelia, for Andrew Dowdy et al.

Bruce L. Udolf, Dist. Atty., Gainesville, for Judge James E. Palmour, III.

HILL, Chief Justice.

Andrew Dowdy and Douglas W. McDonald, attorneys, were held in contempt of court. Dowdy and McDonald represented a client in a probation revocation hearing before Judge James E. Palmour, III. The probationer was charged with having violated the conditions of his probation by possessing cocaine. When the state called its first witness, Dowdy asked for the rule of sequestration. The judge said: "All right. Call all witnesses around." The assistant district attorney called two additional witnesses who were sworn and sent outside the courtroom.

When the state offered two photographs of a vehicle reported to police as having been stolen and in which cocaine was found, the following transpired:

"COURT: Any objections?

"DOWDY: Same objections as in our motion to suppress. All of this information is hearsay, unless they have an owner here to testify and identify the car.

"COURT: With the state of the record, your motion is overruled. I don't think you understand--I think you have lost sight of the concept of revocation as opposed to conviction of a person of a criminal offense. I'm not going to try the car stealing case. Let's get on with the issue at hand.

"DOWDY: Judge, may I enter one more objection? The second objection is that this car is the fruit of an illegal search, in our opinion, since there was time to get a search warrant.

"COURT: I can take that out in a flash. You're wrong. You want some citations, or has Mr. McDonald got that big fat book that he always carries around.

"DOWDY: We have our citations and we'll stand on them.

"COURT: What are yours?

"McDONALD: Give him those citations.

"COURT: What are yours? You read yours, Mr. McDonald. (Pause) Have you got any? (Pause) Mr. McDonald, if you would, I'm addressing you. If you would stand and please respond to me, I would appreciate it. (Pause) Has he lost his voice, Mr. Dowdy?

"DOWDY: No, sir, Your Honor.

"COURT: Mr. McDonald, would you respond?

"McDONALD: I asked Mr. Dowdy to give the court a copy of the brief, Your Honor.

"COURT: I asked you to respond, Mr. McDonald.

"McDONALD: Our citations of authority are set forth in the brief, Your Honor.

"COURT: Thank you.

"McDONALD: We would very much appreciate Your Honor's citations of authority, and if we are wrong, we will certainly admit that we are wrong to the court and to the district attorney, but we would appreciate the benefit of Your Honor's citations too, because we don't like to ever cite any improper authority to the court, and if so, we will certainly correct our brief.

"COURT: Does that need a response, Mr. McDonald, from me, that you don't like to cite authority that is no good?

"McDONALD: I've said all I wish to say, Your Honor.

"COURT: I've said all I wish to say, Mr. McDonald. I'll accept your authority and I'll overrule your motion. There are two cases that just came out recently, that you might want to read, but I'm not going to tell you what they are.

"For the record, the reason I'm not going to tell you what they are, I rarely get any from you. I think turnabout is fair play. If I have to hunt them, I guess you had better hunt them."

When the defense called its first witness and began direct examination, the following occurred:

"ADA: Has this witness been in the courtroom?

"DOWDY: I got him out of the grand jury room.

"ADA: I think he was sitting over here in the courtroom.

"COURT: I don't know.

"THIRD PERSON: He was sitting on this first row right here.

"COURT: Go ahead."

The questioning then resumed.

When the probationer's first witness was excused, the following transpired:

"COURT: Call your next witness.

"DOWDY: Call Bryant Johnson.

"COURT: Now, Mr. Johnson is coming out of the audience. Mr. Dowdy, let's talk about this. You insisted on the rule, and he's been sitting in here, and, apparently, this other gentleman has been sitting in here.

"DOWDY: Yes, sir. I insisted on the rule as to the state's witnesses. The state made no statement as to any witnesses for the defendant.

"COURT: Mr. Dowdy, I'll go ahead and let them testify, but I'm not playing games. I'm going to deal with you and Mr. McDonald when we get through with this case, both of you.

"DOWDY: I'm not intending to play games with the court, Your Honor.

"COURT: I consider it very serious, Mr. Dowdy. Bring him on up. I'll deal with it. It looks like you gentlemen have forgot our last little confrontation.

"McDONALD: What confrontation is that, Your Honor? Or shall we deal with this later?

"COURT: I'll deal with it later. I'm glad to see, sir, that I did get you to stand up. I appreciate it.

"McDONALD: Yes, sir, you provoke me, sometimes, to have to stand, Judge. I want to make sure that the record doesn't go silent when a response is perhaps required.

"COURT: I'll be glad to discuss it with you after this is over."

At the conclusion of the revocation hearing, the following transpired:

"COURT: Mr. McDonald and Mr. Dowdy, if you would, please stand.

"Gentlemen, during the progress of this matter--at the outset of the matter, the rule was invoked--Mr. McDonald, if I could have each of you--each one of you, your undivided attention, it would be appreciated.

"McDONALD: Yes, sir, I'm standing, Your Honor.

"COURT: The rule was invoked. I asked that all witnesses come around and be sworn. Both of you, apparently, didn't think that applied to the defendant's witnesses, and the defendant's witnesses were allowed by defense counsel to remain in the courtroom, the court not knowing who the witnesses were. Additionally, to you, Mr. McDonald, at the time, I asked you a question. You sat in your chair. When the court addressed to you, you did not stand up. You did not respond when requested by the court to do so, and as a matter of fact, in so doing, Mr. McDonald, I want the record to be perfectly clear, that your expression clearly indicated to the court that you were ignoring this court.

"Now, this court deems that this is a direct contempt of this court and will deal with each of you attorneys right now. The acts complained of are that each of you misbehaved as officers of the court, in your official capacity as an officer of the court, after the court--or you, Mr. Dowdy, asked that the witnesses be sequestered, and then both of you, as attorneys for the defendant, allowed the witnesses to remain in the courtroom, especially after the court said 'let all witnesses come around and be sworn'.

"This was in disobedience to a lawful order, or a command, if you want to call it that, of the court, which tended to obstruct the administration of justice. It was also the disobedience of a lawful order of the court.

"To you, Mr. McDonald, I have already said that you sat in your chair when asked a question by the court.

"The court is going to rule that these were contemptuous and insulting acts in the immediate view and presence of the court, which tended to obstruct the orderly administration and proceedings of the court and to impair the respect due the court and its authority.

"Gentlemen, I'm going to tell you something. I'm going to hold you in willful contempt of court but I'm going to impose no sanctions for this contempt, but I'm going to admonish both of you, each of you, to read the rules of this court, to respond to all requests and questions made by the court as gentlemen and also as officers of the court.

"Now, directing your attention to the prior confrontation that you wanted mentioned, Mr. McDonald, you and I had a confrontation in a murder case in Lumpkin County, and we had one in Dawsonville. In Dawsonville, if my memory serves me correct, I asked you for a citation and you failed to give it to me. The record will reveal whatever that confrontation was. That ends the matter. You gentlemen are now warned. If you would like a copy of the transcript, I would be glad to supply it to you. I'm going to have it transcribed and I will keep it in the file, and henceforth, I expect you to abide by the requests, the orders and rulings of the court.

"McDONALD: May it please the court--

"COURT: That's the end of it, Mr. McDonald.

"McDONALD: May I be heard for just a moment?

"COURT: Certainly.

"McDONALD: Please the court, I would like an opportunity to study this matter. I would like an opportunity, at the proper time--maybe this is not the proper time--to respond to the court. It is apparent from the expression on your face and the tone of your voice that maybe now is not the right time, due to your--

"COURT: Mr. McDonald, the expression on my face is my normal expression, and the tone of my voice is my normal tone, when matters of this matter happen. I would caution you to be very careful as to what you say to the court. I have made a ruling. I will abide by this ruling. You can do whatever you desire to do, that are your legal avenues. But Mr. McDonald, I guess that I might sum it all up as saying that I don't understand the rules by which you and Mr. Dowdy operate, and I'm just making it perfectly clear that the way you are acting, and have acted--not have acted, the way you have acted in this courtroom today is not satisfactory with me, and it showed to me--talk about expressions on their face, the expression on your face when I asked you to stand, and the record is clear when I asked you to stand, bordered on being obnoxious.

"McDONALD: Well, maybe that is my usual expression too, Your Honor, and you--

"COURT: No, sir. I've seen enough of you to know that is not your usual expression, but I think you have seen enough of me to know that this is my usual expression.

"McDONALD: I would just like to conclude by saying this. I don't want to be contemptuous of the court. I don't want--

"C...