U.S. v. O'Quinn
Decision Date | 19 September 1990 |
Docket Number | No. 90-2303,90-2303 |
Citation | 913 F.2d 221 |
Parties | UNITED STATES of America, Plaintiff-Appellee, v. John M. O'QUINN, Defendant-Appellant. |
Court | U.S. Court of Appeals — Fifth Circuit |
Michael E. Tigar, Austin, Tex., Stephen D. Susman, E. Lawrence Vincent, Susman & Godfrey, Houston, Tex., for defendant-appellant.
Paula Offenhauser, John R. Braddock, Asst. U.S. Attys., Henry K. Oncken, U.S. Atty., Houston, Tex., for plaintiff-appellee.
Appeal from the United States District Court for the Southern District of Texas.
Before GARZA, JOLLY, and JONES, Circuit Judges.
John M. O'Quinn, appeals his conviction of criminal contempt for sleeping in Judge Melinda Harmon's jury room during a break in a trial in Judge David Hittner's court. Judge Hittner imposed a sentence of indefinite unsupervised probation, provided O'Quinn serve 10 days in the Harris County jail on consecutive weekends. The court stated that it would set aside the jail time if O'Quinn paid a $500 fine by noon the next day and performed sixty hours of community service under the supervision of the United States Probation Office, at the rate of not less than five hours per month. O'Quinn paid the fine and filed a timely notice of appeal. This court stayed his sentence pending appeal. O'Quinn has presented six points of error to this court. We decide only that there was no willful violation of a clear and unambiguous order. We do not decide any of O'Quinn's other points of error. Because Judge Hittner abused his contempt power we REVERSE the conviction and order that O'Quinn be refunded the $500 fine.
During a heated bench conference in the civil trial Iratex, U.S.A., Inc. v. Sewell & Riggs Judge Hittner entered the following oral order: O'Quinn's conviction resulted from an alleged violation of this order. We find the order to be vague and overbroad and thus will not support a conviction of criminal contempt.
International Longshoremen's Ass'n v. Philadelphia Marine Trade Ass'n, 389 U.S. 64, 76, 88 S.Ct. 201, 208, 19 L.Ed.2d 236 (1967); See also Schmidt v. Lessard, 414 U.S. 473, 476 n. 2, 94 S.Ct. 713, 715 n. 2, 38 L.Ed.2d 661 (1974) (per curiam) ( ). O'Quinn is accused of violating the order set forth above regarding staying out of the facilities without prior permission.
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