City of Cleveland v. Heben

I respectfully dissent from the majority opinion since while I agree defendant’s conduct may have been ill-mannered, his conduct posed no “actual or imminent” threat to the administration of justice.

A direct contempt of court, with which defendant was charged and summarily punished, is statutorily defined as follows:

“R.C. 2705.01 Summary punishment’for contempt.

“A court, or judge at chambers, may summarily punish a person guilty of misbehavior in the presence of or so near the court or judge as to obstruct the administration of justice.”

“By both statutes and judicial decision a court is…