Court Opinion

ID: 9539530
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-07 16:05:37.126976+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T14:58:55.679553
License: Public Domain

MACY, Chief Justice,
dissenting.
I dissent. Article 1, Section 9 of the Wyoming Constitution provides in pertinent part: “The right of trial by jury shall remain inviolate in criminal cases.” The charge of indirect criminal contempt is a crime punishable by the imposition of a jail sentence.
As recently as 1986, we made it clear that a person charged with such a crime is entitled to have a trial by jury. Brenner v. City of Casper, 723 P.2d 558 (Wyo.1986). Appellant was unconstitutionally deprived of her rights to be advised of her entitlement to a jury trial and to elect to have a jury trial. This is not an expansion of a right as the majority states.