Tag: Civil Contempt

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of February 23, 2023

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down two opinions today. One is an interesting case involving a term of incarceration for civil contempt approaching five years. The other was taken up on cert to address the defendant being sentenced as a habitual offender.

McPhail v. McPhail, 2020-CA-00739-SCT (Civil – Domestic Relations)
Affirming the chancery court’s order denying the father’s motion to be released from incarceration for contempt stemming from nonpayment of child support, holding that the chancellor did not err in denying release because the father refused to complete a court-ordered psychological evaluation which was the only remaining condition of release to be satisfied.
(5-4: Griffis dissented, joined by Kitchens, King, and Ishee)

Note – The dissent took issue with a nearly five-year incarceration for civil contempt that showed no sign of letting up:

Manuel v. State, 2020-CT-00711-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming convictions of second-degree murder and aggravated assault but vacating sentence as a habitual offender and remanding for resentencing, holding that the trial court lacked sufficient evidence to sentence Manuel as a habitual offender and that the Court of Appeals erred when it allowed the State to supplement the record with copies of indictments for prior offenses.
(9-0)

Other Orders

Murry v. State, 2020-CT-01363-SCT (denying cert)

Simpson County School District v. Wigley, 2021-CT-00009-SCT (denying cert)

Simpson v. State, 2021-CT-00075-SCT (denying cert)

James v. Thompson, 2021-CA-00458-SCT (denying rehearing)

Hand Down List

Mississippi Supreme Court Decisions of September 22, 2022

The Mississippi Supreme Court handed down three opinions today. Two are criminal cases dealing with issues that occurred during voir dire. In one, the issue was an inculpatory exclamation by the defendant. In the other, the issue was two jurors’ undisclosed connection the defendant. The third opinion is a journey through contempt law.

Scott v. State, 2021-KA-01015-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming conviction of burglary, holding that the court did not abuse its discretion denying the defendant’s attorney’s request for a mistrial after the defendant exclaimed during voir dire that he was “guilty as hell.”
(9-0)

Note – This decision seems correct to me.

Watts v. State, 2021-KA-00873-SCT (Criminal – Felony)
Affirming denial of a JNOV after the defendant was convicted of conspiracy to commit armed robbery, attempted armed robbery, aggravated assault, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon and a denial, holding that although two jurors did not disclose that they were related to a man who was murdered by the defendant’s brother in 2006 the court did not commit clear error in determining after an evidentiary hearing that those jurors lacked substantial knowledge of their connection with the defendant during voir dire.
(9-0)

Seals v. Stanton, 2020-CA-00741-SCT (Civil – Domestic Relations)
This decision waded into a morass of contempt and affirmed the chancellor in part, reversed and remanded in part, and vacated in part. The Supreme Court affirmed the chancellor’s finding that two attorneys handling a divorce proceeding were in direct criminal contempt for missing a hearing, vacating the penalty for that because it exceeded statutory authority and remanded on that issue, and affirmed an award of attorney’s fees to the other side. The Supreme Court vacated judgment of direct criminal contempt against another attorney and remanded for proceedings on under the constructive criminal contempt standards. The Supreme Court held that the chancellor erred in finding these attorneys in direct criminal contempt for violating a court order and remanded for a determination of whether an indirect civil contempt proceeding should be commenced.
(6-3: Justice Kitchens dissented, joined by Justice King and Justice Coleman.)

Practice Point – Don’t miss hearings. Don’t violate orders. If you have further questions about what went wrong here or about the intricacies of direct criminal contempt, indirect/constructive criminal contempt, and civil contempt I refer refer you to the opinion and wish you the best.

Other Orders

Hamer v. State, 2019-CT-01633-SCT (denying cert)
Nowell v. Stewart, 2020-CT-00728-SCT (denying cert)
Johnson v. State, 2022-CT-01308-SCT (dismissing cert sua sponte)

Hand Down List