Opinion ID: 1166598
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: the trial court's failure to make findings of fact

Text: Appellant first contends that the trial court's failure to recite the facts which formed the basis of the contempt citation constitutes reversible error. Rule 90(a), Alaska Rules of Civil Procedure, requires the trial court to make findings of fact in cases where a direct contempt, committed in the presence of the court, is punished summarily. Rule 90(a) provides: Contempt in Presence of Court. A contempt may be punished summarily if the judge certifies that he saw or heard the conduct constituting the contempt and that it was committed in the actual presence of the court. The order of contempt shall recite the facts and shall be signed by the judge and entered of record. (emphasis added). The appellee trial court admits that no specific findings of fact were made but argues that the Rule 90(a) requirement should not be mandatory where the record clearly discloses the facts and reflects the conduct of the parties. Acknowledging that the purpose of a requirement of findings of fact is to provide a basis for appellate review, the trial court contends that the record sufficiently establishes the factual background of the contempt for the purposes of this court. However, it is unclear from the transcript which of appellant's remarks were considered contemptuous, and neither the judge's remarks at the time the citation was given [4] nor the contempt order itself [5] gives a clue as to the basis of the citation. The trial court also relies on this court's decision in Taylor v. District Court for the Fourth Jud. Dist., 434 P.2d 679 (Alaska 1967), to support its contention that failure to comply with Rule 90 requirements should not warrant reversal of the contempt. In Taylor, the trial court failed to file an affidavit in accordance with Rule 90(b). [6] We held that defect not to be fatal, since the purpose of the affidavit requirement was to give notice and that purpose had already been fulfilled by the court's order to show cause. The purpose of Rule 90(a)'s requirement that the judge recite the facts upon which the contempt citation is based is to aid this court's review of the record, as well as apprise the contemnor of the conduct for which he is being sanctioned. Neither of these purposes has been fulfilled, and thus our reasoning in Taylor is inapplicable to the instant case. The trial court's failure to make findings of fact, therefore, requires reversal of the contempt sanction imposed by Judge Occhipinti or a remand for the purpose of entering such findings.