Opinion ID: 790147
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Medlock Willfully Disobeyed the Court's Orders.

Text: 28 In the context of criminal contempt, willfulness `means a deliberate or intended violation, as distinguished from an accidental, inadvertent, or negligent violation of any order.' Wright, 80 F.3d at 1251 (quoting Hubbard v. Fleet Mortgage Co., 810 F.2d 778, 781 (8th Cir.1987)). Willfulness may be inferred from the evidence. Hubbard, 810 F.2d at 781. 29 Medlock admits that he had knowledge of the court orders that gave rise to the contempt action. He also admits that he disobeyed these orders. During the February 17 hearing to show cause, counsel for the government asked Medlock, Just what is it that you've done in these proceedings that Judge Dawson asked you to do? Medlock answered, Nothing, sir. However, Medlock argues that the government failed to prove that he willfully violated any order of the district court.
30 Medlock makes two arguments why his failure to provide payment or discovery as ordered was not willful. First, he contends that he is unsophisticated and did not understand that he needed to abide by the order. Second, Medlock argues that his was not a willful violation because he did eventually provide some of the requested documents. We find both arguments unpersuasive. 31 Medlock's argument that he is unsophisticated is unconvincing because Medlock was made aware of his obligations through several means. In addition, Medlock was represented by counsel and stated that he discussed his legal issues with his counsel. Under these circumstances, we find Medlock's failure to provide payment and discovery willful. Medlock was aware that an action against Medco had proceeded and that a default judgment had been entered. The Writ was sent to Medco and personally served on Medlock. On two occasions, Deputy Blevins visited Medlock and requested payment and information, and Medlock refused. Robinson later filed the Request and served a copy on both Medlock and his counsel. The due date for a response was November 12, 2003, and Medco failed to comply with the Request. On December 9, the district court ordered Medco to respond to the discovery request by December 11. Medco still failed to do so. A week past the deadline, Jenkins filed a Motion for Additional Time. In the motion, he stated that defendants had systematically failed to communicate or respond to counsel communications. 32 Medlock argues that he did eventually respond to Robinson's discovery request. That response, however, was unsatisfactory. On January 6, Jenkins sent a response to the discovery request to Robinson. It contained virtually none of the information requested; most of the answers simply stated not applicable. Under these facts, we find a willful violation of the court's order.
33 Medlock had knowledge of the Order to Appear and reasonably should have known his attendance was required, though he was not specifically mentioned in the order. He was the personal representative for the Medco entities in dealings with the court, attorneys, and the Marshals Service. In addition, Medlock's attorney stated that he had informed Medlock that Medlock was required to personally appear and that he had tried to contact Medlock at his home an hour and a half prior to the hearing to confirm his attendance. Further, even when a U.S. Marshal and police officer came to his home to collect him, he did not immediately go with them. Instead, he required the court to wait for an additional thirty minutes for his attorney to arrive and then another ten or fifteen minutes before he left his residence with his attorney. It is difficult to see how his failure to appear was not willful when he refused to go to court even when law enforcement personnel came to his home and asked him to come to court. Medlock points out that he did ultimately appear in court. However, we believe that because he required an escort and was over two hours late, the fact that he ultimately appeared does not cure his failure to appear for the hearing as scheduled. 2