Opinion ID: 1173563
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: characterization of this case

Text: At oral argument a question was raised by the parties concerning the proper designation of the contempt in this case, keeping in mind that the major portion of the fine assessed was ordered payable to the defendants in the litigation that was under way when the contempt occurred. A review of the facts leads to the conclusion that appellant's conduct can only be identified as direct criminal contempt  if it is to be assumed that Mr. Horn's conduct was contemptuous at all. [3] We say this because the challenged conduct occurred during a trial, before the trial judge, and punishment was imposed immediately. Given these circumstances, it must be assumed that the trial judge was responding to an act which he perceived to be disruptive of order and in contravention of the dignity and power of the court and that he imposed the fine as a form of punishment for an act which disrupted the orderly administration of justice in his court, Townes v. State, Wyo., 502 P.2d 991 (1972), and, as such, he was acting in response to an act perceived by the judge as a direct criminal contempt. Notwithstanding this conclusion, we consider it important to discuss the reasons why this case cannot be said to involve a civil contempt. As indicated earlier, civil contempt is generally calculated to compel or coerce a party into complying with a lawful order of the court. Spriggs v. Pioneer Carissa Gold Mines, Inc., supra. Here, even though the underlying action was of a civil nature, there was no lawful order of the court extant with which appellant Horn had failed to comply. Nor is it determinative that most of the fine was payable to the opposing party in the suit where the contempt occurred. This is so because the record reflects that the trial judge imposed all of the fine for punitive reasons rather than for the purpose of vindicating the rights of the defendants below. It is the obligation of appellate courts to decide whether a contempt is civil or criminal based on the reasons why a particular penalty is imposed. See: Shillitani v. United States, 384 U.S. 364, 369, 86 S.Ct. 1531, 1534, 16 L.Ed.2d 622 (1966); Southern Railway Company v. Lanham, 403 F.2d 119 (5th Cir.1968). The facts of this case require us to assume that we are here concerned with a challenge to a conviction for direct criminal contempt. As discussed by Wright in his treatise on federal criminal procedures, [4] A criminal contempt proceeding need not arise out of a criminal action. A person may be punished for criminal contempt for defying the authority of the court in a civil action. 3 Wright, Federal Practice and Procedure, § 702, p. 148. With this in mind, we turn to the specific issues.