In re Craig E. Cascarano, State of Minnesota v. Michael Demond Rashaun Mason ( 2015 )

STATE OF MINNESOTA
IN COURT OF APPEALS
A15-1237
In re Craig E. Cascarano,
Appellant,
State of Minnesota,
Plaintiff,
vs.
Michael Demond Rashaun Mason,
Defendant.
Filed October 19, 2015
Reversed
Cleary, Chief Judge
Anoka County District Court
File No. 02-CR-14-3788
Craig E. Cascarano, Minneapolis, Minnesota (attorney pro se and appellant)
Lori Swanson, Attorney General, Alethea Marie Huyser, Assistant Attorney General,
St. Paul, Minnesota (for respondent John Dehen)
Considered and decided by Cleary, Chief Judge; Hudson, Judge; and Kirk, Judge.
SYLLABUS
A district court lacks inherent authority to summarily impose a monetary sanction
on a lawyer who fails to appear for a scheduled hearing in a criminal case, without
following the procedures set forth in Minnesota’s contempt statutes, Minn. Stat.
§§ 588.01-.15, .20 (2014).
SPECIAL TERM OPINION
CLEARY, Chief Judge
Attorney Craig Cascarano was retained to represent a client on criminal charges in
Anoka County. Cascarano was unable to appear with the client at a scheduled
uncontested omnibus hearing. Cascarano arranged for another lawyer to appear with the
client at that hearing, but the lawyer was mistaken about the date and failed to appear.
Expressing concerns about efficiency and judicial resources, the hearing judge ordered
Cascarano to pay $100 in court costs. Cascarano filed a motion to rescind the court costs,
and the judge denied the motion.
In subsequent orders, the chief judge of the judicial district granted Cascarano’s
motion to disqualify the hearing judge from presiding over the criminal matter and stayed
Cascarano’s obligation to pay the $100 in court costs. In a memorandum, the chief judge
noted that court costs could be imposed to punish an attorney’s untimeliness or
scheduling error in a criminal case only after compliance with applicable contempt
statutes.
In response, the hearing judge issued another order, concluding that the chief
judge had exceeded his authority in staying the order imposing court costs and directing
Cascarano to “immediately pay the $100 in court costs.” The hearing judge specifically
disavowed any intent to impose punishment under the contempt statutes and relied on the
court’s inherent authority.
Cascarano filed a petition for a writ of prohibition seeking to prevent enforcement
of the order for court costs. The special term panel concluded that it is appropriate to
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treat the petition as a timely appeal. See Minn. R. Crim. P. 28.02, subd. 4(3)(b) (setting
time for taking misdemeanor appeal as 30 days after final judgment or entry of order
appealed); see also State v. Pflepsen, 590 N.W.2d 759, 764 (Minn. 1999) (recognizing
court of appeals’ authority to waive or suspend technical requirements and treat notice of
appeal as petition for writ of prohibition). Because the hearing judge did not have
authority to summarily impose court costs for the attorney’s failure to appear, we reverse.
DECISION
Cascarano argues that the hearing judge lacks inherent authority to order him to
pay $100 in court costs for failure to appear at a routine, uncontested hearing in a
criminal case. Whether the district court exceeded the scope of its inherent authority is a
question of law this court considers de novo. State v. M.D.T., 831 N.W.2d 276, 279
(Minn. 2013). We conclude that the judge’s inherent authority to order court costs is
subject to the limits of Minn. Stat. §§ 588.01-.15, .20 (2014).
“The judiciary’s inherent power ‘governs that which is essential to the existence,
dignity, and function of a court because it is a court.’” Id. at 280 (quoting In re Clerk of
Lyon Cty. Courts’ Comp., 308 Minn. 172, 176, 241 N.W.2d 781, 784 (1976)). Judicial
power in Minnesota is vested in the state constitution. Id. (citing Minn. Const. art. VI,
§ 1, creating a “supreme court, a court of appeals, if established by the legislature, a
district court and such other courts . . . as the legislature may establish”). When the court
“came into existence it came with inherent powers. . . . derive[d] from the judiciary’s
‘right to protect itself, to enable it to administer justice whether any previous form of
remedy has been granted or not.’” Id. (quoting In re Disbarment of Greathouse, 189
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Minn. 51, 55, 248 N.W. 735, 737 (1933)) (other quotation omitted). For example, the
courts have inherent power to make rules of practice, to admit attorneys to practice, and
to suspend or disbar them. Greathouse, 189 Minn. at 54-55, 248 N.W. at 737. But the
court’s inherent authority is not absolute.
The test that appellate courts use to determine if inherent judicial authority exists
requires us to consider “whether the relief requested by the court or aggrieved party is
necessary to the performance of the judicial function as contemplated in our state
constitution.” M.D.T., 831 N.W.2d at 280 (quotation omitted). This test must be applied
“‘with due consideration’ for the other branches of government” and not “to serve the
‘relative needs or . . . wants’ of the judicial branch.” Id. (quoting Lyon Cty., 308 Minn. at
181-82, 241 N.W.2d at 786). In other words, “a court has inherent judicial authority to
engage in activities that are necessary to the performance of judicial functions, but ‘the
judiciary is not to resort to inherent authority when doing so would not respect the
equally unique authority of another branch of government.’” State v. Ali, 855 N.W.2d
235, 254 (Minn. 2014) (quoting M.D.T., 831 N.W.2d at 280, 282 (quotation omitted)).
The contempt power is an example of this coordinated balance among branches of
government. “Chapter 588 contains Minnesota’s contempt statutes.” State v. Jones, 869
N.W.2d 24, 27 (Minn. 2015). The statute is divided into two classifications: “one
judicially crafted and the other statutorily mandated.” State v. Tatum, 556 N.W.2d 541,
544 (Minn. 1996). Violations of sections 588.01-.15 are punishable at the court’s
discretion. See id. at 546. These sections also address the court’s inherent contempt
power to summarily punish offenses committed in the court’s presence to preserve the
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dignity of the courtroom proceedings. See In re Welfare of R.L.W., 309 Minn. 489, 491-
92, 245 N.W.2d 204, 205-06 (1976) (discussing chapter 588). But section 588.20 is a
penal statute defining felony and misdemeanor contempt and is “prosecutable by the state
like any other crime.” Tatum, 556 N.W.2d at 546. In Tatum, the supreme court
considered the legislative history of section 588.20 and concluded that the criminal
contempt statute is separate from and does not limit judicial sanctions available under
sections 588.01-.15. Id.
Contempt is also divided into two types: remedial (civil) and punitive (criminal).
Id. at 544. The type of contempt depends on the court’s purpose. State v. Martin, 555
N.W.2d 899, 900 (Minn. 1996). For example, civil or remedial contempt seeks to compel
future compliance with a court order. Id. On the other hand, the primary purpose of
criminal contempt is punitive—to vindicate the court’s authority by punishing past
misconduct. Tatum, 556 N.W.2d at 544. The district court judge or judicial officer may
punish contempt by imposing a fine, imprisonment, or both. Minn. Stat. § 588.02 (2014);
see also Minn. Stat. § 588.20 (defining criminal contempt punishable as a felony or
misdemeanor).
Here, the order requiring Cascarano to pay $100 in court costs is criminal/punitive
because it is intended to punish counsel’s failure to appear at a hearing. See Jones, 869
N.W.2d at 29 (citing Zieman v. Zieman, 265 Minn. 190, 193 n.5, 121 N.W.2d 77, 80 n.5
(1963), which stated the object of criminal contempt “is to punish an individual because
of his demonstrated disrespect for the court’s orders”).
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Next, the contempt statutes provide that the nature of the contemptuous conduct
can be direct or constructive. Tatum, 556 N.W.2d at 544. Direct contempts occur “in the
immediate view and presence of the court,” and may arise from “disorderly,
contemptuous, or insolent behavior toward the judge while holding court, tending to
interrupt the due course of a trial or other judicial proceeding,” or “a breach of the peace,
boisterous conduct, or violent disturbance, tending to interrupt the business of the court.”
Minn. Stat. § 588.01, subd. 2. “Direct contempts may be punished summarily.” Tatum,
556 N.W.2d at 545 (citing Minn. Stat. § 588.03). Constructive contempts, on the other
hand, are not committed in the immediate presence of the court and may arise from any
of 11 different acts or omissions, including “disobedience of any lawful judgment, order,
or process of the court.” Minn. Stat. § 588.01, subd. 3. “Constructive contempts may not
be punished summarily.” Tatum, 556 N.W.2d at 545. “Constructive contempt
proceedings for punitive purposes entitle the accused to procedural safeguards including
prosecution by the state, trial by jury, and proof beyond a reasonable doubt.” Id. at 545
n.3. The supreme court has identified several reasons for this distinction. Because
constructive contempt does not occur in the presence of the court, the urgency of
maintaining order that justifies summary disposition of direct contempt is not present.
Peterson v. Peterson, 278 Minn. 275, 279, 153 N.W.2d 825, 829 (1967). A formal
hearing is also necessary to establish the facts of contemptuous conduct not occurring in
the court’s presence, and this requires that the contemnor be given notice and an
opportunity to be heard. Id. Additionally, a constructive punitive contempt is an
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“offense[] against the dignity of the state as a whole,” and should be prosecuted by an
attorney for the state. Id. at 279, 281, 153 N.W.2d at 830.
Cascarano’s failure to appear for the uncontested omnibus hearing could be
constructive contempt because the reason for counsel’s failure to appear is what makes
the conduct contemptuous or excusable, and the court had no firsthand knowledge of
those reasons when it imposed court costs on Cascarano. See Knajdek v. West, 278 Minn.
282, 284-85, 153 N.W.2d 846, 848 (1967) (concluding counsel’s failure to timely appear
for scheduled hearing was constructive criminal contempt).
In summarily ordering Cascarano to pay $100 in court costs for failure to appear at
the hearing, the hearing judge disavowed any intent to rely on the contempt statutes and
relied on inherent authority. But as previously discussed, a judge’s inherent authority to
control the courtroom is a contempt power.1 And a court does not have inherent authority
1
The hearing judge relied on cases from other jurisdictions as support for a finding of
inherent authority to assess costs for failure to appear for a hearing or trial. These cases
do not support summary punishment. For example, the court in Beit v. Prob. & Family
Court Dept. recognized that judges have inherent power to sanction attorneys for failure
to appear for a scheduled trial, but also held that a judge may not use inherent power to
summarily punish attorney’s failure to appear and avoid the requirements of due process,
which include notice and an opportunity to be heard. 434 N.E.2d 642, 647 (Mass. 1982).
In Coburn v. Domanosky, the opinion notes, in dictum, that a court has inherent power to
assess costs against counsel in a civil case for a scheduling error that results in expenses
to the other party, but does not apply that remedy where the scheduling error was
excusable. 390 A.2d 1335, 1338 (Pa. Super. Ct. 1978). And in In re Gurwitch, a $50
sanction for counsel’s failure to appear was imposed after counsel was given an
opportunity to explain why he did not call the court or arrange for another attorney to
advise the court of his lateness. 256 A.D.2d 180, 180 (N.Y. App. Div. 1998). Cf.
Marcus v. Bamberger, 180 A.D.2d 533, 534 (N.Y. App. Div. 1992) (concluding $100
sanction did not constitute abuse of discretion where due process considerations were
satisfied by representation of counsel and opportunity to testify and offer evidence at a
hearing). While these jurisdictions reference due process, the supreme court in Peterson
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under chapter 588 to summarily punish an attorney’s failure to appear in court. Cf. State
v. Tayari-Garrett, 841 N.W.2d 644, 649 (Minn. App. 2014) (noting the district court
found probable cause to believe the attorney was in constructive contempt under section
588.01, subdivision 3, and referred the matter to the county attorney, who prosecuted the
matter under section 588.20, subdivision 2(4)), review denied (Minn. Mar. 26, 2014).2
Chapter 588 does not permit a court to summarily punish an attorney’s failure to
appear as constructive contempt. Because the hearing judge did not follow the proper
procedure for punishing constructive contempt, and did not have inherent authority to
impose court costs without complying with the contempt statutes, we reverse.
Reversed.
did not rule that the criminal procedural safeguards for constructive contempt were
mandated by the constitution. 278 Minn. at 280-81, 153 N.W.2d at 829-30.
2
We do not express any opinion as to whether failure to appear at a routine court
proceeding violates a lawful judgment, order, or other process of court. See Jones, 869
N.W.2d at 27-28 (declining to define the scope of the word “mandate” for purposes of
section 588.20, subdivision 2(4), which prohibits “willful disobedience to the lawful
process or other mandate of a court”). But cf. Tayari-Garrett, 841 N.W.2d at 654
(concluding evidence sufficient to sustain contempt conviction under section 588.20,
subdivision 2(4), where counsel failed to appear at “date certain” trial).
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