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Is indirect criminal contempt a felony?

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donalds777

New member
What is the name of your state? Florida

Fl. R. Crim. P. 3.840 https://casetext.com/rule/florida-court-rules/florida-rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-contempt/rule-3840-indirect-criminal-contempt explains that

“Criminal contempt is not a crime; consequently, no criminal prosecution is involved. Neering v. State, 155 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1963); State ex rel. Saunders v. Boyer, 166 So. 2d 694 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964); Ballengee v. State, 144 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962).”



I was arrested and sent to jail for a day in the past for indirect criminal contempt in Florida. Except this, I was never arrested or sent to jail. Now I am filing an application in which I need to answer a question: do I have a felony conviction (YES / NO)? I believe that the answer is NO but wish to get your feedback to make sure that my answer is correct. Please help me.
 


Just Blue

Just Blue

Senior Member
donalds777 said:
What is the name of your state? Florida

Fl. R. Crim. P. 3.840 https://casetext.com/rule/florida-court-rules/florida-rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-contempt/rule-3840-indirect-criminal-contempt explains that

“Criminal contempt is not a crime; consequently, no criminal prosecution is involved. Neering v. State, 155 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1963); State ex rel. Saunders v. Boyer, 166 So. 2d 694 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964); Ballengee v. State, 144 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962).”



I was arrested and sent to jail for a day in the past for indirect criminal contempt in Florida. Except this, I was never arrested or sent to jail. Now I am filing an application in which I need to answer a question: do I have a felony conviction (YES / NO)? I believe that the answer is NO but wish to get your feedback to make sure that my answer is correct. Please help me.
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I would suggest you contact your attorney and ask them. We can't see your rap sheet and therefore cannot tell you if you have a felony conviction.

What kind of application is this?
 
quincy

quincy

Senior Member
donalds777 said:
I was arrested and sent to jail for a day in the past for indirect criminal contempt in Florida. Except this, I was never arrested or sent to jail. Now I am filing an application in which I need to answer a question: do I have a felony conviction (YES / NO)? I believe that the answer is NO but wish to get your feedback to make sure that my answer is correct. Please help me.
Click to expand...
What I have bolded above appears contradictory.
 
quincy

quincy

Senior Member
donalds777, were you charged with a crime and failed to appear in court for a scheduled hearing on that crime? If so, what was the crime?

Criminal contempt on its own is not a felony offense. It can however result in jail time of up to a year and a fine.

But you are not safe answering “no” to the question on the application without knowing if you were convicted of a felony offense in addition to the arrest for criminal contempt (if you were arrested … and that is not clear).
 
Last edited:
Zigner

Zigner

Senior Member, Non-Attorney
adjusterjack said:
Huh?

That doesn't make any sense. It's like saying "I ate breakfast, except I didn't eat breakfast."



I'm sure that there is a court file that you can look up for the answer.
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Maybe if the word "for" is added it will make sense. "Except for this..."
 
D

donalds777

New member
Thanks everyone. Let me explain in detail, and I am sorry for some mistakes/confusion I made earlier:

Court ordered me to return some items to my former wife, within 10 days. I did not do that.

Then court found me in indirect criminal contempt and ordered to be incarcerated for a day in jail. Then police handcuffed me (I do not know whether you call it “arrest” or “custody” or something else, and I am sorry for using “arrest” in my earlier message if it is wrong) and took me to jail. I was released after spending a day in jail. After that I returned the items to my former wife and no more issued with her.

This is the only time I was ever in jail or messed with court or police.

Now I am filing an application (for getting some financial support, as I am very poor and barely surviving) in which I need to answer a question (the application says that the information I provided is correct under penalties of perjury): do I have a felony conviction (YES / NO)? I believe that the answer is NO but wish to get your feedback to make sure that my answer is correct. Please help me.

Once again, Fl. R. Crim. P. 3.840 https://casetext.com/rule/florida-court-rules/florida-rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-contempt/rule-3840-indirect-criminal-contempt explains that “Criminal contempt is not a crime; consequently, no criminal prosecution is involved. Neering v. State, 155 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1963); State ex rel. Saunders v. Boyer, 166 So. 2d 694 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964); Ballengee v. State, 144 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962).”
 
quincy

quincy

Senior Member
donalds777 said:
Thanks everyone. Let me explain in detail, and I am sorry for some mistakes/confusion I made earlier:

Court ordered me to return some items to my former wife, within 10 days. I did not do that.

Then court found me in indirect criminal contempt and ordered to be incarcerated for a day in jail. Then police handcuffed me (I do not know whether you call it “arrest” or “custody” or something else, and I am sorry for using “arrest” in my earlier message if it is wrong) and took me to jail. I was released after spending a day in jail. After that I returned the items to my former wife and no more issued with her.

This is the only time I was ever in jail or messed with court or police.

Now I am filing an application (for getting some financial support, as I am very poor and barely surviving) in which I need to answer a question (the application says that the information I provided is correct under penalties of perjury): do I have a felony conviction (YES / NO)? I believe that the answer is NO but wish to get your feedback to make sure that my answer is correct. Please help me.

Once again, Fl. R. Crim. P. 3.840 https://casetext.com/rule/florida-court-rules/florida-rules-of-criminal-procedure/criminal-contempt/rule-3840-indirect-criminal-contempt explains that “Criminal contempt is not a crime; consequently, no criminal prosecution is involved. Neering v. State, 155 So. 2d 874 (Fla. 1963); State ex rel. Saunders v. Boyer, 166 So. 2d 694 (Fla. 2d DCA 1964); Ballengee v. State, 144 So. 2d 68 (Fla. 2d DCA 1962).”
Click to expand...
When an individual is handcuffed and taken to jail, that is considered an arrest.

The indirect criminal contempt charge apparently resulted from your failure to obey a court order. Have you ignored any previous court orders? Although a misdemeanor or felony charge potentially can follow a contempt charge, depending on the nature of the contempt, a contempt of court charge is used to compel compliance with the order, through the imposition of fines and possible jail time.

Here is Florida’s Bench Guide on Contempt of Court Orders. See pages 9 to 17 for information on indirect criminal contempt:
https://www.flcourts.gov/content/download/1998130/file/Contempt Benchguide 2024 Final.pdf

I trust that after a day in jail, you will no longer be defying any orders of the court.

You can access your court file at the courthouse to see what it says.
 
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D

donalds777

New member
So many thanks.
"Have you ignored any previous court orders? " yes, I ignored a previous warning also, on this matter. This is second time and the judge sent me to jail for a day, as I explained.
 
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