United States v. Bernard E. Meyer, and Philip J. Hirschkop

462 F.2d 827, 149 U.S. App. D.C. 212, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 11743
CourtCourt of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit
DecidedJanuary 20, 1972
Docket24058
StatusPublished
Cited by58 cases

This text of 462 F.2d 827 (United States v. Bernard E. Meyer, and Philip J. Hirschkop) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook
United States v. Bernard E. Meyer, and Philip J. Hirschkop, 462 F.2d 827, 149 U.S. App. D.C. 212, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 11743 (D.C. Cir. 1972).

Opinions

McGOWAN, Circuit Judge:

Appellant, a member of the District of Columbia bar, was summarily convicted of criminal contempt1 by a District Court judge acting under Rule 42(a), [829]*829Fed.R.Crim.P.2 The contempt conviction resulted from a criminal trial in which appellant, as one of a number of counsel appointed by the court, represented defendants charged with burglary in the second degree and destruction of property. On this appeal, he asserts error in a number of respects, only one of which we find it necessary to resolve, namely, that he was entitled to have the contempt charge adjudicated at a full hearing before a judge other than the one who cited him. We hold that, in the circumstances revealed by this record, due process of law requires such a mode of proceeding.

I

1. The Trial Proceedings

Because of the disposition we make of this case, we need not recount in detail the events which took place during the criminal trial. The defendants were active in the peace movement; and the charges against them concerned a ransacking of the Washington offices of the Dow Chemical Company. Against the advice of their counsel, the defendants attempted to dismiss their appointed lawyers and to proceed pro se, intending to admit the acts charged and to appeal to the conscience of the jury by asserting what they considered to be the morality, as distinct from the legality, of their deeds. The chief impediment to this strategy — and the eventual source of friction between the defendants and appellant, on the one hand, and the trial judge, on the other- — -was the trial judge’s denial of the motion to proceed pro se, and his insistence that counsel be responsible for the conduct of the trial.3

(b) Disposition Upon Notice and Hearing. A criminal contempt except as provided in subdivision (a) of this rule shall be prosecuted on notice. The notice shall state the time and place of hearing, allowing a reasonable time for the preparation of the defense, and shall state the essential facts constituting the criminal contempt charged and describe it as such. The notice shall be given orally by the judge in open court in the presence of the defendant or, on application of the United States attorney or of an attorney appointed by the court for that purpose, by an order to show cause or an order of arrest. The defendant is entitled to a trial by jury in any case in which an act of Congress so provides. He is entitled to admission to bail as provided in these rules. [830]*830If the contempt charged involves disrespect to or criticism of a judge, that judge is disqualified from presiding at the trial or hearing except with the defendant’s consent. Upon a verdict or finding of guilt the court shall enter an order fixing the punishment.

[829]*829The trial was marked by angry interruptions by the defendants, heated arguments by counsel, an apparent lack of cooperation between the defendants and their counsel, a melee in the courtroom on the fifth day of the trial, the ejection of several spectators, and the removal of the jury from the courtroom on several occasions. By the trial’s close, two of the defendants had pleaded nolo conten-dere to the destruction of property charge, and two others had been cited for contempt for their involvement in the melee.

After the jury found the seven defendants who had not pled nolo conten-dere guilty of destruction of property, as well as of the lesser included offense of unlawful entry, the trial judge called appellant to the bench, cited him for contempt, and asked him to appear the following afternoon so that a contempt certificate could be read in his presence. On the following day, appellant appeared before the trial judge with counsel, who stated that he had not been able to examine the trial transcript and requested that (1) the matter be referred to another judge for adjudication, and (2) appellant be given the benefit of the procedural guarantees contained in Rule 42(b).4 Both requests were denied, and [830]*830the trial judge read the following certificate :

. pursuant to Rule 42(a) of the Federal Rules of Criminal Procedure, 18 U.S.C., I hereby certify that I saw and heard the contempts of court hereinafter described and that they were committed by Philip J. Hirsch-kop in the actual presence of the court during the trial of a criminal proceeding before me entitled United States v. Meyer et al., Criminal No. 872-69.
I find that the said Philip J. Hirschkop was guilty of the following offensive, contumacious and unethical . contempt of court:
1. In addressing the court concerning motions of defendants to represent themselves and for the court to recuse itself, he used insulting, derogatory and disrespectful language. Tr. at 26, 28, 83-87.
2. On numerous occasions he conducted himself in a disrespectful manner and, on some of these occasions, refused to obey the court’s directions to resume his seat after the court had ruled. Tr. at 5, 8-9, 224, 397, 398, 416, 443, 456-457.
3. He addressed the court at the bench in a derogatory and disrespectful manner concerning the seating in the court room and concerning his participation at bench conferences. Tr. at 95-97, 283-285.
4. He engaged in disrespectful and discourteous conduct which offended the dignity and decorum of this proceeding and which was degrading to this tribunal, in violation of the standards imposed by the American Bar Association Code of Professional Responsibility and the Canons of Professional Ethics. ABA Code of Professional Responsibility, Canon 7, EC-7-36, DR 7-106(C) (6) (1969); ABA Canons of Professional Ethics, Canon 1 (1967). Further, in the context of a difficult trial of nine defendants he failed to fulfill his obligation as an officer of this court. See appropriate portions of the trial transcript.
Wherefore, it is this 11th day of February, 1970, ordered pursuant to 18 U.S.C. § 401, that Philip J. Hirsch-kop be and he hereby is sentenced to serve a term of 30 days.

On the next day, the trial judge filed a complaint against appellant with the Committee on Admissions and Grievances of the District Court, and subsequently appeared as the sole complaining witness in hearings before that body.5

2. The Issue on Appeal

In addition to the procedural issue of whether appellant is entitled to an adjudication of the contempt charges by a different judge, numerous claims have been raised on this appeal. These include an attack on the constitutionality of the federal contempt statute; a contention that that statute, properly construed, is not applicable to appellant’s conduct at trial; and an assertion that the sentence imposed on appellant is disproportionate to the offense. We have examined the procedural issue first, since, if appellant is to prevail on it, he will receive a hearing at which his substantive claims can be explored.

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Cite This Page — Counsel Stack

Bluebook (online)
462 F.2d 827, 149 U.S. App. D.C. 212, 1972 U.S. App. LEXIS 11743, Counsel Stack Legal Research, https://law.counselstack.com/opinion/united-states-v-bernard-e-meyer-and-philip-j-hirschkop-cadc-1972.