Court Opinion

ID: 9639393
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-22 16:15:31.147534+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:10:17.367161
License: Public Domain

Wendell L. Griffen, Judge, dissenting. I disagree with the majority’s conclusion that the order was not definite and clear in its terms. The circuit court found that Knotts Island Road was a public road and declared that all landowners had an equal right to maintain and improve the road without interference. This gave the county the right to repair the road. By telling the county to stop grading the road, appellants violated the clear terms of the order, warranting the contempt citation. My colleagues have held to the contrary; therefore, I respectfully dissent. Disobedience of any valid order of a court having jurisdiction to enter it may constitute contempt, punishment for which is an inherent power of the court. Aswell v. Aswell, 88 Ark. App. 115, 195 S.W.3d 365 (2004). An act is deemed contemptuous if it interferes with the order of the court’s business or proceedings or reflects upon the court’s integrity. Ward v. Switzer, 73 Ark. App. 81, 40 S.W.3d 325 (2001). Before a person may be held in contempt for violating a judge’s order, the order alleged to be violated must be definite in its terms as to duties imposed, and the command must be express rather than implied. Johnson v. Johnson, 343 Ark. 186, 33 S.W.3d 492 (2000). Because this case involves criminal contempt, for the reasons stated in the majority opinion, this court is obligated to affirm if the decision is supported by substantial evidence. Before analyzing this case, I must make two corrections to the majority’s statement of the facts. First, the majority omits a full discussion of Ms. Knott’s testimony, wherein she often referred to Knotts Island Road as a “private road,” despite the order declaring it to be a public road. This fact undermines appellants’ argument that they were not willful in their defiance of the circuit court’s order. Second, at the end of their analysis, the majority opinion recites that the circuit court “found that the County had no right to maintain the road in 1999.” This is incorrect. The August 17, 1999 order merely recited that the county failed to meet its burden of proving that it was entitled to have Knotts Island Road declared a public road. Appellants’ argument is twofold. First, they contend that they were not violating the order by prohibiting only the county from coming upon the property. They contend that the previous order allowed the other plaintiffs to maintain the road, but it did not give the county that right. They also point to previous litigation where the County failed to prove that Knotts Island Road was a county road. Second, the Knotts assert that they did not willfully disregard the prior orders of the court. They argue that there was no ruling declaring Knotts Island Road to be a county road and that they prevented the county from working on the road in order to prevent such a designation in the future. To accept appellants’ arguments, one must distinguish between a county road and a public road. At least in this case, this is a distinction without a difference. A public road is a county road, which the entire public travels, and in which it is interested. Easley v. Patterson, 142 Ark. 52, 218 S.W. 381 (1920). At the hearing, appellants contended that their actions were intended to prevent the county from having an interest in Knotts Island Road, but by virtue of the order declaring Knotts Island Road to be a public road, the county obtained an interest in the road. It makes little sense to acknowledge the public’s right to travel on the road, yet continually refer to the road as a “private road” and deny the county’s right to maintain the road. Because it was a public road, appellants had no right to prevent the county from maintaining it. This was certainly clear in the circuit court’s order. By preventing the county from maintaining the road, appellants were in direct defiance of the previous order, warranting the contempt citation. Despite the clarity of the order and appellants’ defiance of that order, this court has held that the circuit court erred in finding appellants in contempt. I cannot accept that result or the reasoning behind it. Therefore, I respectfully dissent.