Com. v. Umoh, E.

2024 Pa. Super. 27, 311 A.3d 24
CourtSuperior Court of Pennsylvania
DecidedFebruary 14, 2024
Docket1464 WDA 2022
StatusPublished
Cited by3 cases

This text of 2024 Pa. Super. 27 (Com. v. Umoh, E.) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Superior Court of Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
Com. v. Umoh, E., 2024 Pa. Super. 27, 311 A.3d 24 (Pa. Ct. App. 2024).

Opinion

J-A25037-23

2024 PA Super 27

COMMONWEALTH OF PENNSYLVANIA : IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF : PENNSYLVANIA : v. : : : EMAEDIONG UMOH : : Appellant : No. 1464 WDA 2022

Appeal from the Judgment of Sentence Entered December 8, 2022 In the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County Criminal Division at No(s): CP-02-MD-0006278-2022

BEFORE: BOWES, J., KUNSELMAN, J., and COLINS, J.*

OPINION BY COLINS, J.: FILED: February 14, 2024

Appellant, Emaediong Umoh, appeals from a judgment of sentence that

the Court of Common Pleas of Allegheny County imposed for direct criminal

contempt.1 On direct review, he asserts that the lower court abused its

discretion by holding him in contempt and erred by proceeding to sentence

him without first announcing his guilt for contempt. Upon careful review, we

remand this matter for the limited purpose of allowing the sentencing court to

correct a clerical error in the sentencing order and affirm Appellant’s judgment

of sentence in all other respects.

The lower court summarizes the relevant facts as follows:

____________________________________________

* Retired Senior Judge assigned to the Superior Court.

1 As discussed infra, the order at issue incorrectly states that Appellant was

sentenced pursuant to 42 Pa.C.S § 4137(a)(1). J-A25037-23

[Appellant] was originally charged with sexual assault crimes. Immediately prior to the jury’s entering the courtroom to deliver the verdict, this Court gave explicit instructions to everyone in the courtroom that they could not act out in any way in reaction to the verdict. The jury returned a verdict of not guilty on all counts. Upon the verdict being read in open court, [Appellant] loudly slapped counsel table four times in the presence of the entire courtroom including, but not limited to, the jury, the alleged victim, the prosecutor, defense counsel, the gallery[,] and this Court. This Court convened a summary hearing as to whether [Appellant] was guilty of contempt.

Trial Court Opinion, 6/28/23, 1.

At the start of the summary hearing, the lower court remarked:

THE COURT: Mr. Umoh, let me make a record here. While we were hearing -- right after the jury announced its verdict of not guilty on all counts you started slapping the table very loudly, acting in a manner as though you were, in my view, at some sports stadium, showing total disrespect to the jury, to the victim who was sitting in this room, whether you consider her a victim or not, to the Court. That’s not the way we do things in this room.

You have been here multiple days. I told everybody to stay seated for certain decorum. You are a law student and that’s the way you acted. It is not all about you. I am going to sentence you to some jail time for your conduct. That’s the Court’s intention.

N.T. 12/8/22, 2-3. In response, defense counsel spoke to the court about

Appellant’s entitlement to a hearing on the contempt charge and the court

explained that it was providing its outlook at the start of the hearing before

any formal ruling was lodged:

[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Your Honor, I believe he is entitled to a hearing on it.

THE COURT: He is having one right now in the presence of the Court. He is having his hearing.

-2- J-A25037-23

[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: Your Honor, you indicated it was a summary contempt proceeding, and I think my client should have an opportunity to express himself.

THE COURT: I’m telling him -- I am giving him fair notice of how I see it before I do anything.

[DEFENSE COUNSEL]: I thought you were making a ruling. I misunderstood you.

THE COURT: That’s why I had him sworn in. He can certainly present. You can too.

N.T. 12/8/22, 3.

Appellant, when given an opportunity to speak, apologized for his

actions addressed by the court:

[Appellant]: First off, I want to express my apologies. What I did was completely -- it was unacceptable. Not only, Judge, as a defendant but somebody -- as you said, as a law student -- somebody who plans on in a few years being in front of you as an attorney. I need to hold myself to a higher standard. I was raised better than that. I am better than that in terms of my conduct. And, like you said, in terms of the prosecution and in terms of the victim, regardless of whether I view the victim or not, I need to hold myself to a higher standard, as well as the jury who spent hours deliberating on this verdict and listening to your instructions. I should hold myself to the same standards as everybody in this room in terms of holding myself to the same standards and conduct. There is no excuse. There is no reason. There is no explanation. All I can do is look you in the eyes the best I can and tell you as a man I apologize. And whatever decision you make I will have to hold myself accountable to, because this is a court of accountability.

N.T. 12/8/22, 3-4. His counsel then argued that his acts of slapping the

counsel table were involuntary given his circumstances at the time of the

-3- J-A25037-23

reading of the verdict. Id. at 6 (“And I think that it has been bottled up inside

him for three years and when he heard those words of not guilty he couldn’t

control those emotions from coming out.”), 8 (“But I think it is -- it has

happened as a result of the pressure he has been under in trying to keep

himself composed. And he was unable to do that. And I believe the act was

involuntary.”), 9 (“…it was not a knowing, intelligent or voluntary act on his

part but more of an emotional response to his situation and predicament.”).

The lower court issued its ruling and sentence at the conclusion of the

summary hearing, as follows:

THE COURT: All right. Mr. Umoh, you took the stand in your own behalf. You did, I thought, a very, very good job. You have a very good lawyer. I’m sure he spent time prepping you. But one of the things you said is, I’m in law school, I’m doing this, I’m doing that. And now your lawyer says, [“]Well, Judge, think of the pressure. He is trying to finish law school.[”] Well, if you are so confident about yourself, if you are so understanding of the process because of your unique position of being a law student while in a trial, it is not unreasonable, I think to hold you to a standard that comports with your education, your position. What you did there, you made this -- you turned this into Acrisure Stadium, PNC Park[,] or whatever other arena you want to -- sports arena. You are a sports guy. It is in vogue now for everybody in the NFL -- they score touchdowns, they do dances, they go sit up in the stands with the fans. Even when they are losing 30 to nothing if they happen to score it is, [“]Oh, [l]ook at me, [l]ook at me, [l]ook at me.[”] A defensive lineman makes one sack, gets up and does a celebration even if his team is losing by four touchdowns. [“]Look at me. Look at me.[”] That’s what you did. You did a [“]Look at me. I won. Look at me, I won,[”] in the face of the prosecutor, in the face of the victim. Again, that’s a term that I am using generically because you were acquitted. But in the face of the jury that struggled with this, that at one point, as you know, was at an impasse. And this is your reaction.

-4- J-A25037-23

The last time somebody acted out in this room in an inappropriate way I found them in contempt[,] and I sentenced them [to] 5 to 10 days in the county jail. That’s the same sentence you are getting today.

You are hereby sentenced to a sentence of 5 to 10 days in the county jail effective immediately.

N.T. 12/8/22, 10-12; see also Sentencing Order, 12/8/22, 1.

Appellant filed a counseled notice of appeal and a request for nominal

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
2024 Pa. Super. 27, 311 A.3d 24, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/com-v-umoh-e-pasuperct-2024.