Court Opinion

ID: 9874759
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-09-26 22:14:55.645501+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T07:46:52.429013
License: Public Domain

Karen R. Baker, Justice concurring in part and dissenting in part. I agree that there is substantial evidence to support Morris’s conviction for criminal contempt. However,' I dissent from the majority’s decision to modify Morris’s contempt fine to $2,000. Instead, I would modify the fine to $500 based on the following analysis. IsArk. Code Ann. § 16-10-108 (b)(1) provides that punishment for contempt is a Class C misdemeanor. Ark. Code Ann. § 5-4-201 (b)(3) states that a defendant convicted of a Class C misdemeanor may be sentenced to pay a fine not exceeding five hundred dollars ($500). Accordingly, I would fine Morris to an amount within the Class C misdemeanor range and modify the amount to $500. See Carle v. Burnett, 311 Ark. 477, 482-83, 845 S.W.2d 7, 10 (1993) (The circuit court held Carle in contempt, acknowledged that although the court was not bound by the statutory limit for a range of punishment, the circuit court judge stated that he would work within the range of penalties used for Class A misdemeanors); see also Ark. Dep’t of Human Servs. v. Gruber, 39 Ark. App. 112, 839 S.W.2d 543 (1992); Carle, supra; Hodges v. Gray, 321 Ark. 7, 14, 901 S.W.2d 1, 4 (1995); Etoch v. State, 332 Ark. 83, 87, 964 S.W.2d 798, 800 (1998); Etoch v. Simes, 340 Ark. 449, 450, 10 S.W.3d 866, 867 (2000); James v. Pulaski Cty. Circuit Court, Fifth Div., 2014 Ark. 305, 439 S.W.3d 19; Valley v. State, 2016 Ark. 443, 3, 505 S.W.3d 674, 676 (Fines imposed pursuant to Ark. Code Ann. § 16-10-108 not exceeding $500). Further, based on the specific facts in Morris’s case and his contemptuous actions, $500 is a reasonable amount. Therefore, I concur in part and dissent in part. Womack, J., joins.