Williams v. State, 96-1547
| Decision Date | 16 September 1997 |
| Docket Number | No. 96-1547,96-1547 |
| Citation | 698 So.2d 1350 |
| Parties | 22 Fla. L. Weekly D2223 Doyle WILLIAMS, Appellant, v. STATE of Florida, Appellee. |
| Court | Florida District Court of Appeals |
Nancy A. Daniels, Public Defender; Jamie Spivey, Assistant Public Defender, Tallahassee, for Appellant.
Robert A. Butterworth, Attorney General; Edward C. Hill, Jr., Assistant Attorney General, Office of the Attorney General, Tallahassee, for Appellee.
During a case management conference concerning the defendant's felony case, the trial judge twice held the appellant in direct criminal contempt of court and sentenced him to consecutive sentences of five months and twenty-nine days' imprisonment for each conviction. The defendant appeals the contempt convictions, claiming that the trial court violated the procedural due process requirements of rule 3.830 of the Florida Rules of Criminal Procedure.
The defendant urges that the trial court failed to comply with Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.830 in both of his contempt convictions. He assigns error to the fact that the trial court never formally noticed him with either charge; that it did not appoint legal counsel to represent him in defense of either charge; that the written judgment of contempt did not contain a recital of the facts on which the adjudications of guilt were based; and that the judge failed to offer him an opportunity to be heard as to why he should not be held in contempt as to the first charge.
The defendant was convicted of direct criminal contempt, which is distinguishable from indirect contempt. The rules for the two types of contempt provide differing procedural requirements. Florida Rule of Criminal Procedure 3.840 governs indirect contempt and affords several significant procedural safeguards, including the defendant's right to a hearing on the matter and to representation by counsel at such hearing. However, rule 3.830, which governs direct criminal contempt and applies to the defendant's case, provides that the trial court may punish direct contempt summarily. This rule requires that the written judgment contain a recital of the facts on which the adjudication of guilt is based and that the trial judge give the defendant the opportunity to present evidence of mitigating circumstances. The rule does not require that the defendant be appointed counsel to represent him in defense of direct contempt charges or that a formal hearing be held on the charge. Thus, no error occurred on these alleged grounds.
However, the trial court did not comply with the requirement that it include in its written judgment of contempt a recitation of the factual basis for the adjudication. The state cites Saunders v. State, 319 So.2d 118 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), for its contention that the omission of a factual recitation in a written judgment of contempt is a mere technical error that does not warrant reversal. However, in the more recent case of Johnson v. State, 584 So.2d 95 (Fla. 1st DCA 1991), we held that a trial court's failure to recite in the judgment those facts on which an adjudication of contempt is based requires reversal. In Johnson, we acknowledged our holding in Saunders; nonetheless, we concluded in Johnson that our decision in Fisher v. State, 482 So.2d 587 (Fla. 1st DCA 1986), rendered Saunders ...
To continue reading
Request your trial
-
Plank v. State
...him counsel giving him an opportunity to seek counsel for the contempt proceeding. We affirm on the authority of Williams v. State, 698 So.2d 1350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997), and Saunders v. State, 319 So.2d 118 (Fla. 1st DCA 1975), in which this court held that a defendant does not have a right t......
-
Kelley v. Rice
...3.830. The rule has been interpreted to allow summary punishment without appointment of counsel or a formal hearing. Williams v. State, 698 So.2d 1350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). In order to understand and apply this seemingly simple definition and rule, it is necessary to consider its constitutio......
-
Searcy v. State
...hearing on the charges nor is he entitled to legal representation even though the sentence may be incarceration. Williams v. State, 698 So.2d 1350 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). However, the accused is entitled to the basic protections of due process, and strict compliance with the procedural require......
-
Hutcheson v. State, 5D05-98.
...be exercised with care and circumspection." Guardado v. Guardado, 813 So.2d 236, 237 (Fla. 5th DCA 2002), citing Williams v. State, 698 So.2d 1350, 1351 (Fla. 1st DCA 1997). Further, the failure to follow the procedural requirements in contempt proceedings is fundamental error. See Garrett ......