Court Opinion

ID: 9649235
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-23 14:46:11.001437+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T18:12:09.199105
License: Public Domain

FLAHERTY, Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent. In Commonwealth v. Marcone, 487 Pa. 572, 410 A.2d 759 (1980), this Court upheld the summary imposition of a fine when an attorney deliberately chose not to be present in court as ordered, where the facts, even accepting as true the attorney’s version of the events, did not present a situation of such compelling urgency as would justify a willful disregard of a court commitment. After a review of the record in the instant contempt proceeding, it is evident that appellant deliberately, and without an adequate excuse, chose to forego alternative procedures for satisfying his responsibilities in California and thereby intentionally absented himself from his court commitment in this Commonwealth. Appellant did not avail himself of the alternative proposed by the court of supplying a substitute counsel; nor did he provide the court with a reasonable explanation of why such a referral would not be feasible. Providing notice of the impending non-compliance was not sufficient to nullify the contumacious character of appellant’s actions. The interest of preservation of taxpayer funds through efficient use of courtroom facilities requires that attorneys be held to timely participation in scheduled court proceedings.