Court Opinion

ID: 9544313
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:54:30.749292+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:12:40.927190
License: Public Domain

JUSTICE MILLER, concurring in part and dissenting in part: I agree with the majority that the circuit court had jurisdiction to enter the contempt order of July 19, 1982, and that the proceedings in the circuit court were flawed. I disagree, however, with the conclusions that the contempt was necessarily civil and that this matter ended with the expiration of the defendant’s term of probation. The classification of contempts as criminal or civil turns on what kind of sanction — punitive or coercive — is the more appropriate answer to the contemnor’s act. Punishment is imposed when the contemnor affronts the dignity of the court, hinders its proceedings, or brings the administration of justice into disrepute. Coercion is imposed to induce the contemnor to do a required act. The majority finds the contempt in the present case on balance to be civil; the parties in their briefs treat it as criminal. I believe it can be treated as either. In many cases it may be difficult to determine whether a punitive or coercive sanction is more appropriate, though in some cases the only logical sanction is punitive (see People v. Marcisz (1975), 32 Ill. App. 3d 467, 334 N.E.2d 737, aff’d in part, rev’d in part on other grounds sub nom. Marcisz v. Marcisz (1976), 65 Ill. 2d 206, 357 N.E.2d 477 (violation of prohibitory injunction)). In this case, either punitive or coercive sanctions would have been proper. As the history of the defendant’s probation shows, the circuit court and the State exhibited great patience. When coercive measures fail, punishment may be proper. The provisions in the Unified Code of Corrections on default in the payment of fines do not limit the circuit court’s power to classify the contempt here as criminal: the contempt power is an inherent one in the judicial branch and need not be provided for, nor may it be restricted, by the legislature (In re G.B. (1981), 88 Ill. 2d 36, 430 N.E.2d 1096). For the reasons indicated, I believe the contempt here may be treated as criminal as an alternative to the revocation of probation, or as a civil contempt if the court’s purpose is to induce the defendant to comply with the orders of payment. The majority mentions that the requirements of contempt proceedings are more stringent than those that apply to a petition to revoke probation. I believe that is true for indirect criminal contempts but not for indirect civil contempts. In the case of an indirect criminal contempt, the contemnor is entitled to certain constitutional protections, including the right to notice, the right to file an answer, a reasonable opportunity to defend, the assistance of counsel, the right to be proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, and the right not to be compelled to testify against himself. (Marcisz.) In an indirect criminal contempt, the failure to comply with an order of court must be wilful and the State has the burden of proving wilfulness beyond a reasonable doubt (People v. Witherspoon (1977), 52 Ill. App. 3d 151, 367 N.E.2d 313). In a criminal contempt in which the sentence imposed exceeds six months’ imprisonment or a $500 fine, the record must disclose that the contemnor either had or was offered a trial by jury. (County of McLean v. Kickapoo Creek, Inc. (1972), 51 Ill. 2d 353, 282 N.E.2d 720; Aurora Steel Products v. United Steelworkers of America (1981), 94 Ill. App. 3d 97, 418 N.E.2d 492.) In an indirect civil contempt, the contemnor need not be proved guilty beyond a reasonable doubt, but rather by the preponderance or greater weight of the evidence. In an indirect civil contempt proceeding involving the failure to comply with an order or decree, the burden may shift to the contemnor to prove his inability to comply with the order (Dishinger v. Bon Air Catering, Inc. (1949), 336 Ill. App. 557, 84 N.E.2d 562), but he must still be afforded an opportunity to show cause why he should not be held in contempt. Because the defendant in the present case was afforded neither-the constitutional protections to which he would be entitled in an indirect criminal contempt proceeding nor an opportunity to show cause why he should not be held in contempt, which is required in an indirect civil contempt proceeding, I agree with the majority that the circuit court’s finding of contempt must be reversed. Further, if it was the intention of the circuit court to punish the defendant for criminal contempt, then the sentence of imprisonment for a fixed period of time imposed in the present case was appropriate; if it was the intention of the court to impose a coercive sanction, then the sentence imposed must be conditioned on compliance with the original order. Unlike the majority, I would require substantial compliance with the applicable provisions of Supreme Court Rules 401 and 402 in indirect criminal contempt proceedings. Although the procedural safeguards surrounding the prosecution of criminal contempts “do not derive from the Sixth Amendment” (Levine v. United States (1960), 362 U.S. 610, 616, 4 L. Ed. 2d 989, 995, 80 S. Ct. 1038, 1042), I see no reason to distinguish in this regard indirect criminal contempts from other criminal proceedings, for “[criminal contempt is a crime in the ordinary sense; it is a violation of the law, a public wrong which is punishable by fine or imprisonment or both” (Bloom v. Illinois (1968), 391 U.S. 194, 201, 20 L. Ed. 2d 522, 528, 88 S. Ct. 1477, 1481). Supreme Court Rules 401 and 402 are designed to set forth on the record that the defendant has received the necessary admonitions preceding his waiver of various constitutional rights. (People v. Warfel (1979), 67 Ill. App. 3d 620, 385 N.E.2d 175.) Should a person charged with indirect criminal contempt wish to waive his constitutional due process rights, substantial compliance with the applicable provisions of these rules will ensure a clear record. In re K.S.Y. (1981), 93 Ill. App. 3d 6, 11, 416 N.E.2d 736, 740 (Green, J., concurring in part and dissenting in part); see Kickapoo Creek. I also disagree with the majority’s assertion that the expiration of the defendant’s probation affects the jurisdiction of the circuit court following the disposition of this appeal. The circuit court lost jurisdiction over this matter when the defendant filed his notice of appeal, not when his probation expired. The expiration of probation should have no effect here, for the contempt is a separate proceeding and the circuit court’s order was final and appealable (People ex rel. Scott v. Silverstein (1981), 87 Ill. 2d 167, 429 N.E.2d 483; see Archer v. Archer (1979), 71 Ill. App. 3d 938, 390 N.E.2d 629). I would also construe the fine and restitution ordered here in combination with the defendant’s probation as independent dispositions that survive the expiration of the period of probation. For the reasons indicated, I would reverse the finding of contempt, and remand the cause to the circuit court for further proceedings.