United States v. James T. Skuthan , 442 F. App'x 460 ( 2011 )


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  •                                                                  [DO NOT PUBLISH]
    IN THE UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS
    FOR THE ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    ________________________            FILED
    U.S. COURT OF APPEALS
    No. 11-10061         ELEVENTH CIRCUIT
    Non-Argument Calendar      OCTOBER 3, 2011
    ________________________        JOHN LEY
    CLERK
    D.C. Docket No. 6:10-cr-00223-GKS-DAB-1
    UNITED STATES OF AMERICA,
    lllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll                                Plaintiff-Appellee,
    versus
    JAMES T. SKUTHAN,
    llllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllllll                       Interested Party-Appellant.
    ________________________
    Appeal from the United States District Court
    for the Middle District of Florida
    ________________________
    (October 3, 2011)
    Before BARKETT, HULL and PRYOR, Circuit Judges.
    PER CURIAM:
    Attorney James Skuthan appeals his conviction for criminal contempt, under
    
    18 U.S.C. § 401
    (3) and Fed.R.Crim.P. 42(a), for failure to appear and failure to
    provide the court with notice of a conflict during his representation of a client at a
    sentencing hearing before district court Judge G. Kendall Sharp. Skuthan was not
    present when his case before Judge Sharp was first called because he was tending
    to matters of other clients before another district court judge, Chief Judge Conway,
    and he failed to file a notice of conflict with the court regarding his conflicting
    hearing obligations.
    On appeal, Skuthan first argues that the district court’s order of contempt is
    procedurally deficient since Rule 42(b) does not authorize the court to summarily
    dispose of criminal contempt proceedings where, as here, the contemptuous
    conduct occurred outside the presence of the judge. Instead, Skuthan argues, he
    was entitled to notice of the proceeding and an opportunity to obtain counsel and
    present evidence in his defense, as required by Rule 42(a). Secondly, he argues
    that the district court’s order is substantively deficient since there was no
    reasonably specific order in existence for him to violate, and there is no evidence
    that his actions were willful, intentional, or reckless. Specifically, he contends
    that he made substantial efforts to reconcile his conflicting hearing obligations by
    contacting Judge Conway’s chambers weeks before the hearing date, and it was
    his understanding that Judge Conway’s chambers had contacted Judge Sharp’s
    2
    chambers regarding the scheduling conflict.
    As a preliminary matter, the district court did not indicate whether it was
    finding Skuthan in criminal or civil contempt of court. However, we have
    “uniformly regarded the imposition of a penalty against attorneys for a punitive
    purpose as a criminal contempt sanction.” United States v. KS & W Offshore
    Engineering, Inc., 
    932 F.2d 906
    , 908 (11th Cir. 1991); see also Romero v.
    Drummond Co., 
    480 F.3d 1234
    , 1242 (11th Cir. 2007) (stating that, “[b]ecause the
    district court assessed a punitive fine against the [attorney], the contempt order
    [was] criminal in nature”). “Unlike civil contempt, an order of criminal contempt
    is a final decision that is immediately appealable.” Drummond, 
    480 F.3d at 1242
    .
    The district court here erred in summarily disposing of the criminal
    contempt charge against Skuthan. First, since Skuthan was subject to an indirect
    contempt order, summary disposition would normally not be appropriate.
    Secondly, although Skuthan provided the court with an explanation for his
    absence and failure to file a notice of conflict prior to the court’s finding of
    contempt, this is the type of situation in which the attorney would benefit from the
    opportunity to call witnesses in his defense. Therefore, Skuthan was entitled to
    the procedural protections of Rule 42(a). Even if this were the type of case where
    the procedures of Rule 42(a) need not be followed, there is not sufficient evidence
    3
    to support a charge of criminal contempt.
    Although Skuthan violated the court’s order to appear at his client’s
    sentencing hearing, his conduct does not rise to the level of willfulness. Since
    there is insufficient evidence to support a finding of criminal contempt, remand to
    the district court to comply with the procedures of Rule 42(a) would not be proper.
    See Robinson, 922 F.2d at 1535 (holding that, where the attorney’s conduct did
    not constitute contempt, “a remand to the district court to allow compliance with
    Rule 42(a) would be fruitless”). Accordingly, we reverse the district court’s
    contempt order and dismiss the proceedings against Skuthan.
    REVERSED AND DISMISSED.
    4
    

Document Info

Docket Number: 11-10061

Citation Numbers: 442 F. App'x 460

Judges: Barkett, Hull, Per Curiam, Pryor

Filed Date: 10/3/2011

Precedential Status: Non-Precedential

Modified Date: 11/5/2024