State v. Jordan

190 P.3d 516, 146 Wash. App. 395
CourtCourt of Appeals of Washington
DecidedAugust 19, 2008
Docket36027-6-II, 36037-3-II, 36047-1-II
StatusPublished
Cited by10 cases

This text of 190 P.3d 516 (State v. Jordan) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals of Washington primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
State v. Jordan, 190 P.3d 516, 146 Wash. App. 395 (Wash. Ct. App. 2008).

Opinion

190 P.3d 516 (2008)

STATE of Washington, Respondent,
v.
Ryan Michael JORDAN, Defendant.
In re the Matter of Michael Nagle, Appellant.

Nos. 36027-6-II, 36037-3-II, 36047-1-II.

Court of Appeals of Washington, Division 2.

August 19, 2008.

*518 Michael Nagle, Appearing Pro Se.

J. Andrew Toynbee, Thurston County Prosecuting Attorney's Office, Olympia, WA, for Respondent.

QUINN-BRINTNALL, J.

¶ 1 On January 29, 2007, without prior notice to the prosecution or the Thurston County Superior Court, defense counsel Michael Nagle did not appear to represent his client, Ryan Michael Jordan, at a scheduled pretrial hearing on three felony cases. The same day, without notice to Nagle, the trial court entered an order to show cause in which it found Nagle in contempt and sentenced him to serve two days in the Thurston County Jail or pay a $150 fine ($.50 for each case). Nagle appeals the contempt finding, arguing that (1) there was no factual basis for such finding and (2) the trial court exceeded its authority in entering the order without a hearing as required under RCW 7.21.050. Because the January 29 order violated constitutional and statutory procedural protections prerequisite to a valid contempt finding, we vacate the trial court's contempt orders and dismiss the sanctions imposed.

FACTS

¶ 2 On January 29, 2007, Jordan's appointed counsel, Nagle, was scheduled to appear for Jordan in Thurston County Superior Court at a pretrial omnibus hearing on three criminal cases. When the trial court called the cases for a hearing, Nagle was not present. Without notice to Nagle, the trial court entered an order to show cause in which it found Nagle in contempt of court and sentenced him to serve two days in jail or pay a fine of $150 ($50 per case). In addition, the trial court ordered Nagle to appear at a hearing on February 1, 2007, to show cause why he should not be found in contempt. Nagle filed a written response. At the February hearing, Nagle admitted that he had made a mistake by failing to appear at the January 29 pretrial matters and offered the following explanation:[1]

[T]his was my mistake.... I thought the case had transferred into Drug Court and that we no longer had any hearing on the regular criminal calendar.
. . . .
... I probably should have double checked to make sure that [the drug court acceptance] actually went through.

Report of Proceedings (RP) at 4. During the colloquy, the trial court again offered Nagle an opportunity to further explain his absence on January 29. Nagle repeated his previous explanation and apologized to the court for his mistake.[2]

¶ 3 The trial court noted in its oral ruling that Nagle knew on January 29 that the drug *519 court had not been accepting any new offenders. And it stated:

It was your assumption that [Jordan] would be accepted, that he would be placed on a waiting list, and that because of that, the hearing on Monday would go off? ... [T]he kind of assumptions that you made make it difficult, if not impossible, for this Court to conduct its normal business."

RP at 13-17. The trial court reaffirmed its earlier contempt finding and found that, because he was otherwise able to appear and had simply assumed there would be no hearing, Nagle had not shown good cause for his failure to appear on January 29. The trial court amended the jail sanction, however, and imposed a $150 penalty, $50 for each of the three cases scheduled for the hearing that Nagle failed to attend. Nagle timely appeals.

¶ 4 This appeal requires us to review the trial court's January 29 contempt order and determine whether the trial court abused its discretion when it found Nagle in contempt and sentenced him to two days in jail. We hold that it did.

ANALYSIS

CONTEMPT OF COURT

¶ 5 Nagle argues that, unless the State has filed criminal contempt charges, he cannot be held in contempt for failing to appear at a hearing without notice to the trial court or opposing counsel. The State argues that a criminal charge is unnecessary and that, under RCW 7.21.050,[3] the trial court has inherent authority to control the cases before it and accordingly establishes a procedure for summary contempt proceedings in such situations. The parties unquestionably raise important issues that require clarification and resolution. See In re Dependency of A.K., 162 Wash.2d 632, 652, 174 P.3d 11 (2007) ("A juvenile court commissioner possesses the inherent power to impose punitive or remedial sanctions for contempt of court, whether that contempt occurs in or outside of the courtroom. However, before exercising that power, the court must specifically find all statutory contempt remedies inadequate."); In Re Interest of Rebecca K., 101 Wash.App. 309, 317, 2 P.3d 501 (2000) (confinement in juvenile detention without a purge condition remains a punitive sanction requiring criminal due process, regardless of the legislature's "remedial" label. And "[c]riminal contempt proceedings must be initiated by a criminal information filed by the State ... to comply with due process.").

¶ 6 But we do not reach these issues in this case because the trial court here found Nagle in contempt and sentenced him to serve two days in jail without notice or opportunity to be heard. On January 29, when the trial court found Nagle in contempt, it had no evidence indicating why Nagle had not appeared for Jordan's pretrial hearings; he could have been in an accident or had a medical emergency. For the reasons we discuss below, the trial court's contempt finding not only failed to comply with RCW 7.21.050, but also violated Nagle's constitutional due process rights. The show cause hearing, which was held after the trial court found Nagle in contempt and sentenced him to two days in jail or fine in lieu of jail, did not remedy these violations.

*520 ¶ 7 A trial court may impose a contempt sanction using its inherent constitutional authority or under statutory provisions found in Title 7 RCW. A.K., 162 Wash.2d at 645, 652, 174 P.3d 11. A finding of contempt and punishment, including sanctions, lies within the sound discretion of the trial court. State v. Dugan, 96 Wash.App. 346, 351, 979 P.2d 885 (1999). We will not disturb a trial court's contempt ruling absent an abuse of that discretion. Dugan, 96 Wash.App. at 351, 979 P.2d 885. A trial court abuses its discretion when it exercises its discretion in a manifestly unreasonable manner or bases its decision on untenable grounds or reasons. State v. Berty, 136 Wash.App. 74, 83-84, 147 P.3d 1004 (2006) (citing State v. Powell, 126 Wash.2d 244, 258, 893 P.2d 615 (1995)).

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Bluebook (online)
190 P.3d 516, 146 Wash. App. 395, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/state-v-jordan-washctapp-2008.