Kandel v. State

Hammond, C. J., delivered the opinion of the Court. Nelson R. Kandel, of the Maryland Bar, appeals from an order of Judge Turnbull of the Circuit Court for Baltimore County finding him in contempt for failing punctually to appear at the trial of an accused whom he represented, and imposing a fine of $150.00. This was done orally on May 27, 1968, the day of trial, and was followed by a written order dated May 27 but signed by Judge Turnbull on November 5, and filed November 18, reading as follows: “It is this 27th day of May, 1968, by the Circuit Court for Baltimore County “O R D E R E D that Nelson R. Kandel, Esquire, be ⁶⁷⁰ and he is hereby punished for contempt and fined One Hundred and Fifty Dollars ($150.00). “The facts known to the Court on its own knowledge are that Mr. Kandel had been late for trial on at least one prior occasion in this Court, had been warned by me not to let it happen again, and appeared at approximately 1:00 p.m. to try a case which was scheduled for trial at 10:00 a.m., and in which prosecuting witnesses had traveled to Towson from New York. Mr. Kandel admitted that he had previously been warned and not only the Court, but all the parties and witnesses were greatly inconvenienced. “The Court finds as a fact that the Assistant State’s Attorney notified Mr. Kandel’s office within the week prior to trial that the case was set for trial on May 27, 1968; that Mr. Kandel had been employed by the Defendant about a month before the trial, but he had not entered his appearance properly; that he knew or should have known of the trial date; and that there was no valid reason or excuse for his not appearing in this Court at the time scheduled for trial.” Mr. Kandel urges upon us that Judge Turnbull’s actions were not only arbitrary and unjustified but an invalid affront to the requirements of Maryland Rule P3 b, which provides that when a direct contempt is committed the judge shall sign and cause to be entered of record a written order to that effect which shall state the facts that were known to the court of its own knowledge and the basis for the court’s finding with respect to any facts not so known.

We find that Mr. Kandel was not prejudiced by the delayed compliance with Rule P3 b. The purpose of the Rule “is to enable the appellate court to determine, by an inspection of the record, whether a contempt has in fact been committed or whether the court had jurisdiction to punish it,” as the editor’s note to the Rule in the Code puts it. The appellant’s record extract (which also was filed late) reveals the facts recited in the order signed November 5, and the record enabled us to decide whether a contempt was committed and whether Judge Turnbull had jurisdiction to punish it. ⁶⁷¹ We find further that Judge Turnbull was neither arbitrary nor unjustified in finding Mr. Kandel in contempt and fining him. The grounds for a finding of direct contempt are set forth in Code (1966 Repl.

Vol.), Art. 26, § 4: “The power of the several courts of the State to issue attachments and inflict summary punishments for