Opinion ID: 2192892
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: The Imposition of Sanctions for Direct Criminal Contempt

Text: Smith also asserts that the trial judge did not follow the required procedures when she imposed the sanction for his direct criminal contempt. Specifically, Smith argues that because the sanction was meted out in a separately docketed proceeding, it cannot be considered to have been imposed summarily and as such, the trial judge's actions did not comply with the appropriate Maryland Rules. The parties do not dispute that the trial judge found Smith to be in direct criminal contempt. The issue, rather, is whether the trial judge in the case sub judice summarily imposed sanctions under Maryland Rule 15-203, or whether the imposition of sanctions should have been governed by Maryland Rules 15-204, 15-205, and 15-207. Maryland Rule 15-203 provides in pertinent part: (a) Summary imposition of sanctions. The court against which a direct civil or criminal contempt has been committed may impose sanctions on the person who committed it summarily if (1) the presiding judge has personally seen, heard, or otherwise directly perceived the conduct constituting the contempt and has personal knowledge of the identity of the person committing it, and (2) the contempt has interrupted the order of the court and interfered with the dignified conduct of the court's business. The court shall afford the alleged contemnor an opportunity, consistent with the circumstances then existing, to present exculpatory or mitigating information. If the court summarily finds and announces on the record that direct contempt has been committed, the court may defer imposition of sanctions until the conclusion of the proceeding during which the contempt was committed. Both the State and the Court of Special Appeals rely upon language in the Committee Note to Maryland Rule 15-203 for their conclusion that the contempt proceedings remained summary in nature despite the fact that the trial court imposed sanctions during a separately docketed hearing. The Committee Note to Maryland Rule 15-203 states: Sanctions may be imposed immediately upon the finding of the contempt, or, in the court's discretion, may be deferred to a later time in the proceeding. Deferral of a sanction does not affect its summary nature. The sanction remains summary in nature in that no hearing is required; the court simply announces and imposes the sanction. Both the plain language of Maryland Rule 15-203(a) and the commentary contained in the Committee Note contemplate a deferral of sanctions until later in the proceedings in which the contempt occurred or immediately upon the conclusion of the proceedings. The term summary generally connotes an immediate action undertaken without following the usual formal procedures. See Black's Law Dictionary 1476 (8th ed.2004). The procedures implemented in the case sub judice were neither immediate nor without the usual formalities of a hearing. The fact that the court held an independently docketed proceeding in which to dispense sanctions is entirely inconsistent with the concept of summary proceedings. Moreover, the trial judge engaged in an involved colloquy with Smith, permitted his attorney to present a mitigating argument, and solicited sentencing recommendations from the State and Smith's counsel. This case provides a stark contrast to Mitchell v. State, 320 Md. 756, 580 A.2d 196 (1990), in which the trial court summarily imposed sanctions for Mitchell's contempt during his sentencing proceeding immediately after imposing the sentence for the underlying crime. Thus, circumstances of the present case lack the hallmarks of summary imposition of sanctions under Maryland Rule 15-203(a). Because the trial judge did not summarily impose sanctions for Smith's direct criminal contempt, Maryland Rule 15-204 governs the imposition of sanctions, and provides: In any proceeding involving a direct contempt for which the court determines not to impose sanctions summarily, the judge, reasonably promptly after the conduct, shall issue a written order specifying the evidentiary facts within the personal knowledge of the judge as to the conduct constituting the contempt and the identity of the contemnor. Thereafter, the proceeding shall be conducted pursuant to Rule 15-205 or Rule 15-206, whichever is applicable, and Rule 15-207 in the same manner as constructive contempt. Therefore, the trial judge erred in characterizing the imposition of sanctions in the present case as summary in nature and should have followed the procedures delineated in Maryland Rules 15-204, 15-205, 15-206, and 15-207.