Charles William Tessmer v. United States

This appeal is from a judgment and conviction of contempt of court arising from the appellant’s conduct as defense counsel in a criminal case. On three occasions during the trial, the appellant disclosed to the jury that in an earlier trial there had been a hung jury. In the Certificate of the Contempt Proceedings, the trial judge stated:

“The defendant’s counsel, each time he made and repeated the hung jury disclosure, did so designedly in an effort to serve the chances of a favorable fate for his client, but with present knowledge that what he did was fraught with potential prejudice to the…